Wills & Estate Planning

More than a will

A good estate plan makes sure the right people are looked after, the right people are in charge, and your affairs can be managed if you lose capacity. For many clients that means a will and an enduring power of attorney. For clients with companies, trusts or self-managed superannuation, it means a plan that deals with structures a will alone cannot reach — because many of your most significant assets may not actually be “estate” assets at all.

• Wills From straightforward to complex, drafted to say precisely what you intend.
• Enduring powers of attorney Choosing who can make financial and personal decisions if you cannot.
• Superannuation & insurance Binding death benefit nominations and how policies fit the plan.
• Trusts in estate planning Family trusts, control and succession of trusteeships.
• Business succession Buy/sell arrangements between shareholders and partners, so a business survives the departure of an owner.
• Testamentary trusts Structuring gifts for asset protection and flexibility for beneficiaries.

Making your will: what we’ll cover together

Before drafting, we work through the details that give a will its practical effect:

• Your assets — property, accounts, superannuation, insurance and any items of particular significance
• Your beneficiaries, and any gifts you want to make to specific people or causes
• Executors — ideally more than one, chosen for judgement and availability
• Guardianship wishes for children under eighteen
• Funeral preferences, and where your will is to be kept
• Any person you intend to exclude, and how to record that decision properly

Keeping your plan current

A will is a living document. Revisit it when circumstances change — marriage, separation or divorce, a new child or grandchild, buying or selling significant property, the death of a beneficiary or executor, or changes to a business or trust. Marriage and divorce can each affect the operation of an existing will, so review it at both.

Probate & estate administration

When someone dies, we guide executors and families through what comes next — probate applications, letters of administration where there is no will, collecting and distributing the estate, and the executor’s duties along the way. Where a will is contested or a family provision claim is made, our litigation team advises executors and claimants alike.