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Business succession planning

Business succession planning

Business succession planning decides who takes over your company, family trust or self-managed super fund if you die or lose capacity. Your Will cannot do it, because you control those structures rather than owning what they hold. We start with a diagnostic of each entity to work out what you need.

What happens to your business when you’re no longer running it? Whether you’re preparing for retirement, planning for unexpected events, or ensuring a smooth handover, a solid business succession plan safeguards your legacy.

Without one, your business could face legal disputes, tax burdens, or even financial instability. Let’s ensure your hard work carries on.

If you have a business, company, family trust or SMSF, it is essential that you put in place proper succession planning for that entity when you die. Your Will may not be enough. 

Book a consultation today to safeguard your business for generations to come.

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At Perth Wills Centre, we help business owners:

Create a clear succession strategy.

Minimise tax implications while protecting your family and preserving your legacy.

Protect your business from legal and financial risks.

our services

Business succession services and prices

Every business succession plan starts with an estate planning conference. You don’t need to decide anything before it. We work out what you need there and quote the work from that.

Testamentary trust Will

From $3,000 single / $4,000 partners

Considering a testamentary trust? Let’s talk strategy.

Start with an estate planning conference with one of our experienced lawyers. We’ll walk you through how a testamentary trust could benefit your family, and provide a tailored, fixed-price quote for your estate plan.

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Recommended

Estate planning conference

$440

We’ll sit down with you to understand your circumstances, your goals, and your wishes, then map out an estate planning strategy built around them.

Following the consultation, we’ll provide a fixed-fee quote for preparing your Will, any testamentary trusts, and other documents required to bring your plan to life.

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Business succession diagnostic advice

From $2200

We’ll work with you to develop a tailored estate planning strategy that helps manage the assets you own or control — with a focus on tax efficiency, asset protection, and preserving your legacy for the next generation.

Start with an estate planning conference with one of our experienced lawyers — and take the first step toward peace of mind.

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A seamless, high-quality process

We know estate planning can feel overwhelming, which is why we’ve designed our process to be efficient, thorough, and stress-free.

Consultation

We'll talk through your estate planning needs and objectives and start developing tailored succession strategies for you and your related entities. After the consultation, we'll give you a fixed-price quote for the next steps, so you know your costs before we begin.

01
Diagnostic service

If you own a business, trust, company or SMSF, we'll review each of your structures as they currently stand, identify where succession is unclear or doesn't meet your objectives, and set out a plan to ensure the right people end up in control of the right assets. 

02
Document preparation

Once you've settled on a strategy, we'll prepare the documents needed to carry out your wishes and send you the drafts to review. We'll meet with you again to answer any questions and make sure you're happy before anything is signed.

03
Finalisation and signing

We ensure all legal requirements are met, giving you total confidence in your estate plan.

04
Store your Will

We can store your Will free of charge in our in-house secure document storage facility.

05

Don't leave your legacy to chance

Call us now or book online to get started.
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Frequently asked questions

We review the deed or constitution for each of your structures and work out who takes over if you die or lose capacity. You get a written plan setting out the current position and advice as to how to achieve your objectives. This might include a Deed of Variation if the trust deed needs to be varied to meet your needs or a Deed of Successor if the deed nominates the wrong person.
Our business succession diagnostic is priced for each entity, so what you pay depends on how many companies, trusts and funds you control. Many of the business owners we act for have more than one. We’ll give you a tailored quote or estimate after your estate planning conference. See the current prices on the business succession planning page.
Your Will can pass the shares you own in a company. It cannot pass anything that is owned by a family trust, because the trust owns those assets, not you. Your Will may be able to pass control of the trust, subject to the terms of the trust deed. Each trust is governed by its own terms which is why specific advice is so important.
At your initial appointment we’ll ask you for an overview of the trusts and companies you control, but we won’t analyse the documents in the meeting. After the appointment we’ll ask you for the trust deed and any deeds of variation for each family trust, plus the constitution and share register for each company. For a self-managed super fund we’ll need the trust deed and the current member statements. We cannot advise on succession for a structure without reading its deed.
The appointor is the person who can remove and replace the trustee of a family trust, so it is the position that ultimately controls the trust. What happens to it when the appointor dies is set by the deed and it differs from deed to deed. See our post on estate planning for your related entities.
Not without authorisation. An attorney under an enduring power of attorney cannot deal with property held in trust and cannot act as a company director or secretary unless authorised by the company constitution. Who steps in is set by the trust deed and the company constitution, which is why it is so important to get advice specific to your own documents.
Not necessarily. Your superannuation is held by the trustee of your fund rather than by you, so it does not automatically form part of your estate. A binding death benefit nomination directs the trustee where to pay your super when you die.
An unpaid present entitlement is money a trust owes a beneficiary but has not paid. If that beneficiary is you, it is an asset of your estate and your Will has to deal with it. Loans between you and your entities work the same way. These must be considered as part of your estate plan as they have the effect of moving wealth between people and entities. See our post on estate planning for your related entities.

Why work with Perth Wills Centre?

From simple Wills to complex asset protection, we deliver solutions you can trust.

01.
Experienced lawyers, not a document service
No shortcuts, just carefully considered legal strategies.
02.
As simple or as thorough as you need

A Will for a straightforward estate or a complete estate plan for more complex needs.

03.
A refined, streamlined process

We deliver convenience without cutting corners.

Testimonials

What our clients say

You know, making a will has been at the top of my ‘To Do’ list for at least 10 years and I’ve been putting it off because I haven’t known how or where to do it. Lucy made that whole process so easy and stress free.  I can’t believe it was so simple in the end.
July 1, 2026
I found Curae very professional and caring making my Will with the recent passing of my late Husband. I’d like to thank Lucy for her compassion, kindness and friendship she showed me.
June 17, 2026
I entrusted Curae Law “ Michael” to write up my will. It was a very easy process and Michael explained it to me in detail. I would highly recommend this law firm!
May 28, 2026
Thank you Michael, Your one hour meeting provided me with a wealth of information I’d been searching for, for over the last six months.
April 17, 2026
Every Will is so different to others clearly depending on individual circumstances going forward. Understand now all Wills, whether simple or complex need to be reviewed regularly within two years minimum, as so much can change. Work with Curae Law was very professionally presented but also simplified without future issues that can causes complications. Ongoing support will always be available to make any future changes as required. Done and successful process now. Thank you Team and Sean who managed my Will requirements.
April 16, 2026
Hi Michael, I appreciated your thorough advice.
April 9, 2026

Meet our team

We’re highly skilled at crafting tailored estate plans where your legacy and your family are protected. Get it done right

Michael Hodgkins
Legal Practitioner Director

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Lucy Dickens
Legal Practitioner Director

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Sean McMurdo
Lawyer

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