Will And Estate Planning

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CONTACT US WITH YOUR ESTATE PLANNING QUESTIONS

EXPERIENCED ESTATE PLANNING LAWYERS

The Estate Lawyers would like to assist you with the preparation of your Will and Estate Plan.

Our firm has a large estate litigation practice dealing with circumstances where Wills and Estates are contested. In many of these matters, the estate litigation could have been avoided, or the cost to the estate from the litigation minimised, with a properly considered Will and Estate Plan prepared by an estate planning lawyer who is also experienced in estate litigation.

Our experience has shown us that when people do not take the time to properly consider their Will, in the event of their incapacity or death, it can cause issues for the people whom they would like to benefit.

Should you instruct us as your estate planning lawyer, we will discuss not only your Will but also any other assets which you own or control which may not be distributed in accordance with the terms of your Will, such as your superannuation death benefits, life insurance and your family trust (if you have one).

HOW DO MAJOR LIFE EVENTS SUCH AS DIVORCE OR SEPARATION AFFECT MY WILL IN QUEENSLAND?

It is important to update your Will and Estate Plan every time you have a major life event because some major life events, such as separation or divorce, can result in your Will being revoked in part or completely. In these circumstances a new Will would be required, not only legally, but also because if your Will and Estate Plan does not fit your current circumstances, it is more likely to be contested following your death.

For example, the terms of the Succession Act mean that if you marry, your Will is revoked. If you divorce or separate from a de-facto partner, your Will is revoked to the extent of any gift to your ex-partner. Moreover, if you have minor children, the appointment of your ex-partner as the trustee for those children remains and so you should consider updating your Will and Estate Plan to ensure that your Will includes your wishes for the trusteeship of any money as well as the guardianship and care of your children in the event of your passing. We strongly encourage you to talk to us if anything significant in your life has recently changed so you can review your Will and Estate Plan.

ESTATE PLANNING TO PREVENT YOUR WILL FROM BEING CONTESTED

We have a large litigation practice here at The Estate Lawyers. Our solicitors specialise in estate disputes and contests to Wills in Queensland. Using our litigation experience, we can work with you and your family to arrange the transfer of your assets to your chosen beneficiaries during your lifetime to prevent Will and estate disputes upon your passing. This includes working with you to discuss the management and control of your real property, investments, trusts, companies, superannuation, life insurance and your rural farming properties.

If you do not wish for there to be any transfer of your assets during your lifetime but you are worried that after your death your Will is going to be disputed, we can use our estate litigation experience to provide advice for you to proactively ensure that the risk of any litigation against your Will and estate planning wishes is minimised.  We would be pleased to work with you, your accountants and your other financial advisors to achieve the outcome you desire.

THE IMPORTANCE OF SPECIALIST DRAFTING OF YOUR WILL AND ESTATE PLANNING DOCUMENTS

As well as ensuring you have received comprehensive advice regarding your estate planning needs, it is imperative that your Will and Estate Planning documents are drafted correctly. If your Will has not been drafted correctly and contains errors or has been drafted based on poor legal advice or because you have elected to prepare the Will yourself without seeking legal advice at all, your Will may not be effective upon your death. We have observed from many years acting in Will dispute matters that the Wills which are most often contested are the ones where the testator has not taken the time to ensure that their Will and Estate Plan is properly considered and the potential risks of a challenge to the Will from a beneficiary are taken into account.

We also assist many clients regarding Will interpretation or Will construction issues upon the death of a family member or friend. Often a Court Application is required where the meaning of a Will is inconsistent, unclear or disputed because its terms do not make sense, which can be a costly and stressful exercise for the parties involved, especially if the legal costs for the argument are paid from the estate. This in turn reduces the money available to your chosen beneficiaries. We will ensure that your Will and Estate Planning documents are drafted accurately and in conjunction with specialised legal advice to avoid future Will disputes of this type which lead to costly Court Applications.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT PREPARING WILLS AND ESTATE PLANS  

+ WHAT IS A WILL?

Your Will is a document which deals with the assets you hold in your name personally or which are paid to your estate after your death.

+ WHAT IS AN ESTATE PLAN?

Estate planning refers to the review of all assets which you own and control to ensure they pass, in the event of your incapacity or death to your chosen beneficiaries.

+ WHAT DOES A WILL DO?

A Will should firstly appoint an Executor. The Executor is the person who is to administer your estate.

The Will should also deal with all assets which are held in the Deceased’s name as at the date of his or her death. A Will may not effectively deal with other assets of the Deceased, such as superannuation or life insurance.

When you administer an estate in Brisbane, it is important to look at each of these assets to determine who will receive them upon the Deceased’s death. It is very important that any person acting as the Deceased’s Executor follows the terms of the Will exactly.

+ WHAT IS THE ESTATE PLANNING PROCESS AND WHAT DOES THE ESTATE PLANNING LAWYER DO?

Before The Estate Lawyers can make any recommendations about your Will and estate plan, we need to know about you.

We need to know about your assets and your chosen beneficiaries. We also need to know a little about them so your Will and estate plan can take into account the needs of your beneficiaries.

We usually like to discuss your financial situation with you, your accountant and / or your financial planner so that we can recommend, as part of a due diligence process, the best outcome for you and your beneficiaries.

+ WHAT IF I DON'T MAKE A WILL?

If you die without making a Will it means you will have died “intestate.” In an Intestate Estate, the Estate will be distributed in accordance with the laws of intestacy. The Succession Act and the Uniform Civil Procedure Rules determine who can act to administer your Estate and also how your estate is to be distributed. As a general guide, your spouse, children and parents will be the most likely to be required to act to administer your estate if you died intestate.

+ WHAT DOES MY EXECUTOR DO?

An Executor’s job is to collect your assets, pay the your debts, including taxes and then distribute your Estate in accordance with the terms of your Will.

+ WHAT IS A TESTAMENTARY TRUST WILL? SHOULD I GET ONE?

A Testamentary Trust Will is a Will whereby your beneficiaries rather than receiving their inheritance outright, they receive their money in a trust structure.

You can decide on the terms of that trust structure and it can be used to minimize tax, provide asset protection in the event of a bankruptcy or marital breakdown for your beneficiary or it can protect a substance addicted beneficiary from wasting their inheritance.

Whilst your circumstances will be assessed at our initial meeting, most of our clients choose to prepare a Testamentary Trust Will.

+ CAN YOU PREPARE MY WILL SO IT CANNOT BE CONTESTED?

No matter what you do with your Will, if someone has standing to contest it, no lawyer can stop them.

What The Estate Lawyers can do for you is ensure you take every step possible to prevent any contest to your Will from being successful.

Our solicitors will use their estate litigation background to come up with a strategy to prevent a successful challenge to your Will.

+ CAN YOU WORK WITH MY ACCOUNTANT OR FINANCIAL ADVISOR?

Our preference in developing your Will and estate plan is to involve your financial advisors so we can understand your financial position and strategies they already have for you.

We will not provide you with tax or financial advice but we will document your wishes for you.

If your financial advisor is based in Brisbane, we are happy to meet you at their offices for the initial meeting.

CONTACT THE SPECIALIST WILL AND ESTATE PLANNING LAWYERS

Since 2012, The Estate Lawyers have been providing specialised advice in all Brisbane, Gold Coast and Queensland based Will and Deceased estate matters.

During that time, we have helped many clients put together a comprehensive Will and estate plan to make it easier for their family to administer their estate when their time comes.  We also hold your original Will and estate planning documents at our office in our safekeeping.

We know that preparing your Will and considering what might be the best for your estate plan might involve some difficult choices.  Let us help guide you through all of the potential issues so that your wealth on your death passes to the people whom you want to receive it in the most simple, cost effective way possible.

Contact us and we will be happy to help.