Estate planning
Planning ahead to ensure your financial, medical and lifestyle affairs are looked after when you are gone or can no longer look after yourself can be difficult, but it can also bring peace of mind for you and your family.
Having an estate plan means you can be sure your assets will be managed and distributed according to your wishes.
An estate plan is particularly important for families with complex needs, such as those involving second marriages or loved ones with special needs. It’s also important where there is a history of, or the potential for, family disputes.
Depending on your circumstances, an estate plan may incorporate provisions for:
- nominating someone to act on your behalf if you are unable to manage your own affairs – a financial or medical power of attorney or an advance care directive
- creating trusts or other structures for tax purposes or to protect significant assets
- specifying arrangements for the smooth transfer of business interests
- ensuring structures you control, such as a family trust, family companies or superannuation funds, pass to the control of people you choose and trust
- protecting and providing for loved ones with a disability or special needs, including young children
- protecting your children’s inheritance from claims by their creditors or claims resulting from any future relationship breakdowns
- a charitable giving program, whether it is a one-off donation, charitable trust or foundation such as a private ancillary fund.
Our estate planning lawyers can work with you and your adviser to tailor an estate plan to your individual circumstances – making sure your wealth is managed and distributed according to your wishes.
Don’t leave it to chance – have a plan in place and make sure your assets are managed and distributed the way you want.
Speaking to clients about who will manage their financial, medical and lifestyle affairs when they die or are no longer able to do so is difficult, but it can bring them peace of mind.
Our estate planning lawyers will work in partnership with you to tailor estate plans to your clients’ individual circumstances – to make sure their wealth is managed and distributed in line with their wishes and in the most tax effective way.
Our unbundled or partnership approach means you continue to manage the relationship with your clients – we simply provide you with specialist estate planning advice.
We can meet with you and your clients in person or via video conference (Zoom, Skype for Business, MS Teams).
Contact us
For more information on estate plans, please speak to your adviser or call us or contact Equity Trustees.