Wills and Estate Planning

A testamentary trust is a trust established under a person’s Will. The assets that form part of that trust are from the estate of a deceased person. Instead of leaving inheritance directly to a beneficiary, a Will can direct that, in some cases, the inheritance is to be distributed to the trustee of a testamentary […]

A Power of Attorney is a legal document that allows you to give authority to one or more nominated people to make financial and legal decisions on your behalf. The Power of Attorney includes dealing with your assets, debts and finances (for example, operating your bank account and buying or selling property on your behalf).  

A testamentary trust is a trust established in a person’s Will. It comes into existence only when the person dies and the Will comes into operation. A testamentary trust is established when the Will states that an asset or share of the estate must be held on trust for a particular beneficiary (often depending on

Until a person attains the age of 18 years, any inheritance must usually be held on trust for them. This is because beneficiaries under 18 years of age are not legally able to give the Executor a valid receipt for assets distributed to them. When assets are held on trust for a beneficiary, pursuant to

In Australia, people have the right to make a Will and to leave their assets as they wish. This is referred to as having “testamentary freedom”). However, a person’s Will is not necessarily the last word. There may be many reasons why the assets will not be distributed as the person has set out in

If you have an interest in a family trust, it is important to review the deed (and any amending deeds) establishing the trust so that you are aware of the terms governing your trust, before making your Will. You need to consider the following issues when making your Will. Trust assets are not governed by

How business structures outlive their members and what you need to know about succession planning Introduction A company’s status as a separate legal entity ensures its survival beyond the lifespan of its human members. While the death of a shareholder, director, or officer triggers administrative changes, the company itself continues unaffected. However, careful planning is

The Superannuation Industry Supervision Act 1993 (Cth) (‘the Act”) provides that the trustee of a superannuation fund must pay the deceased’s superannuation death benefit either to the deceased’s legal personal representative or to a dependant of the deceased. ‘Legal personal representative’ of a person is the executor of that person’s Will, or if there was

Under statute, unsecured debt becomes unrecoverable 6 years after the limitation period begins. This is particularly important to consider in estate planning, where the concerned parties may accumulate substantial amounts of debt over many years, surpassing the 6-year limitation period. If the person who loaned the money (“the creditor”) is not aware of the limitation

Fees for Wills vary dramatically from firm to firm. There are those firms who charge about $300 for a Will and those that charge $3,000 or more. If your circumstances are simple, then you might think the $300 Will (or even a post-office Will) is fine. However, often people think they only need a simple