Comprehensive estate planning tailored to your personal assets, trust and superannuation structures, and implemented by experienced estate planning lawyers.
A complete estate plan does more than a will. It protects your beneficiaries from life's stumbling blocks.
Our estate planning packages are tailored to operate alongside your personal assets, trusts and superannuation. They implement effective mechanisms to protect your beneficiaries' interests from bankruptcy, divorce and unwanted tax implications, and are prepared by lawyers who do this work every day.
A valid will gives structure to your estate, decides who benefits and who administers it, and nominates a guardian for infant children. Without one, your estate is distributed under the Succession Act, often with an unwanted outcome, higher costs and greater risk of litigation.
In effect a will for your Self Managed Super Fund. Because your SMSF does not form part of your personal estate, your will has no bearing on how those assets are distributed. A binding nomination ensures your super passes as you intend.
Activated if you lose the ability to make legal decisions, an Enduring POA nominates a trusted attorney to act on your financial and health matters. Without one, your family must apply to a tribunal, which can be costly and against your wishes.
A Testamentary Discretionary Trust (sometimes called a "Will Trust") is a flexible structure that can be designed to operate effectively in most scenarios. It offers four key advantages:
Protects inheritances from the beneficiaries themselves. The trustee has discretion over how and when capital and income are distributed, and the trust can be wound up or kept open for years, so distribution can continue until a beneficiary reaches a chosen age.
With optimal allocation of income and capital, beneficiaries may still qualify for government pensions or benefits, such as aged, disability and sole parent pensions, that a standard inheritance might otherwise put out of reach.
Assets are not legally owned by beneficiaries, giving greater protection from legal proceedings, most commonly the Family Law Courts and bankruptcy. The trust legally separates inherited assets from a beneficiary's personal assets.
Taxable income can be allocated among beneficiaries in a tax-effective way at their marginal rates. Infant beneficiaries are entitled to the normal tax-free threshold, helping to minimise tax on trust income.
Package inclusions may vary depending on the complexity of your circumstances. Please contact us for a tailored quote.
