Estate planning is about developing a strategy to ensures that your assets are distributed according to your wishes. A comprehensive estate plan will ensure that assets you own or control will be dealt with in a way that will minimise tax, protect your family and preserve your legacy after you die.

As well as preparing your Will, our role is to help you understand how your assets and entities will be dealt with when you die or lose capacity and prepare documents you need to carry out to your wishes.

What’s involved in estate planning?

Most people are aware that they should have a Will, but a Will is just one component of an estate plan.

A Will sets out who will receive your assets when you die. Estate planning is much broader than this, and may involve:

• establishing testamentary trusts for asset protection (for example on relationship separation or bankruptcy) or tax minimisation;
• creating an Enduring Power of Attorney to appoint a person to act on your behalf in relation to property and financial matters if you lose mental capacity;
• creating an Enduring Power of Guardianship to appoint a person to make personal, lifestyle and treatment decisions on your behalf if you lose capacity to make those decisions yourself;
• restructuring your ownership of assets;
• obtaining advice about family provision (challenges to a Will) and developing a strategy to avoid potential disputes about your Will;
• developing succession strategies for companies, trusts, businesses or other entities you control.

Having an estate plan is among the most important things you can do for your loved ones. A good estate plan can:

• help you provide for your family and ensure your assets pass to your intended beneficiaries;
• help you make plans for your children’s care, including by appointing a guardian;
• minimise estate expenses;
• help your loved ones to make difficult decisions by documenting your wishes;
• minimise tax;
• protect your assets from future relationship breakdown, bankruptcy, or from spend-thrift beneficiaries or beneficiaries with drug or gambling problems.

For tailored estate planning advice, contact us for an estate planning consultation.