Estate Planning Lawyers Brisbane

Making a Will is a great start towards planning your estate. Effective estate planning, however, generally involves consideration of a number of matters from experienced estate planning lawyers in Brisbane.

Even those with simple family structures and modest resources should think about ways to ensure their hard-earned assets can be protected and maximised, and how their legal, financial and health affairs might be managed if they are incapacitated.

Good Brisbane Estate Planning Requires:

• Preparing for the inevitable – having a valid Will to appoint an executor / trustee and to determine who receives your assets when you die.
• Planning for the unforeseen – ensuring powers of attorney and advance health directives are in place so your legal, financial and health affairs can be dealt with appropriately if you are ill or incapacitated.
• Ensuring your estate maintains value – distributing assets in the most tax-effective manner tailored to your specific circumstances.
• Protecting vulnerable beneficiaries – creating trusts to safeguard assets from third party creditors and to protect beneficiaries who are at-risk of managing their inheritance whether through incapacity, disability, or dependency.
• Succession planning – ensuring arrangements are in place for business and company interests.
• Minimising the potential for estate claims – understanding family provision and implementing strategies to limit claims.

Your Will

A Will is a legal document outlining how your assets should be distributed when you die and appointing somebody responsible for managing and finalising your affairs (your executor/s). Your Will can also provide other directions such as the appointment of guardians for your minor children.

Retaining a lawyer to draft your Will can help to ensure that your assets and beneficiaries are protected and the most tax-effective distribution of your estate is taken into consideration. Your lawyer may also provide advice about ways to help minimise potential disputes regarding your estate when you die.

Our estate planning lawyers in Brisbane recommend reviewing your Will regularly, particularly when your personal and financial circumstances change. Important life events such as marriage, divorce, and the birth of a child; or financial changes like receiving an inheritance or buying a business or property, are milestones that could trigger the need to update your Will and overall estate plan.

Choosing your executors

Your executor/s are responsible for gathering and distributing your assets in accordance with the instructions in your Will and finalising your legal affairs.

The role of the executor includes identifying, protecting, and collecting estate assets, applying for probate if necessary, claiming funds under insurance policies, closing bank accounts, paying debts and distributing or transferring assets to beneficiaries according to the Will.

If the Will is disputed or a family provision claim is made against the estate, your executor will need to deal with these issues.

Your executor/s should be chosen with care. An executor should be somebody you trust and who is willing and able to accept the role. For simple estates, a spouse, or adult child / children (or combination) may be appropriate choices to oversee the administration and finalisation of the estate which is generally carried out under the guidance of a lawyer.

For more complex estates with business interests or that will have ongoing trusts, it may be preferable to appoint a professional with expertise in this area.

Asset protection – testamentary trusts

Asset protection involves structuring your affairs to eliminate or reduce loss and to safeguard property. In some cases, our Brisbane estate planning lawyers might recommend that you establish a testamentary trust. A testamentary trust is a discretionary trust contained in a Will that comes into effect after you die. The assets are held by a trustee who can distribute capital or income from the trust to your identified beneficiaries in accordance with the rules outlined in the trust.

While there are ongoing costs involved with a testamentary trust, meaning they are not an appropriate choice for everyone, they provide a level of protection for assets or beneficiaries in a number of ways. For instance, if a person wants to leave gifts to young children, or otherwise vulnerable individuals, a testamentary trust can assist by ensuring that funds are used to benefit those vulnerable individuals, due to the duties of a trustee. In addition, a testamentary trust can protect assets from third parties if a beneficiary is at risk of bankruptcy or being sued.

What happens if you die without a Will?

Dying without a Will is referred to as dying intestate. In such cases the deceased person’s assets are distributed according to a statutory formula which sets out a specific order of distribution to the next of kin. While this method if distribution supposedly reflects society’s expectations, it may not necessarily reflect the real wishes of the deceased and can result in undesired consequences.

An application to the court is made by an interested person when a person dies intestate. A grant of letters of administration appoints the applicant as administrator, allowing him or her to deal with the estate assets and liabilities in the same manner as an executor after a grant of Probate is made.

We are approachable and capable lawyers with significant experience in estate planning and estate administration. Our Brisbane estate planning lawyers work with a range of individuals and families, helping them to protect their hard-earned assets while planning for the unforeseen and the inevitable.

If you need assistance, contact us at [email protected] or call 1300 040 807 for expert legal advice.