estate planning Articles
What Are Gifts in Contemplation of Death?
May 21st, 2016 by | Deceased Estates & Inheritance Claims, Wills & Estate Planning
There may be many reasons why a person wants to give away their assets when they know or believe they will soon die. Perhaps they never made a Will or don’t have time to update their current one; or maybe they want to provide a benefit to someone who has helped them or disinherit someone… Read more »
Estate Planning Issues for Blended Families
November 9th, 2015 by | Deceased Estates & Inheritance Claims, Wills & Estate Planning
In my opinion, there is no more important time to consider your estate planning than when you are part of a blended family, whether that involves a second marriage, or a de facto relationship where one or both of you have your own children, or a first relationship with a partner who has their own… Read more »
Estate Planning Considerations for the Terminally Ill
July 6th, 2015 by | Wills & Estate Planning
Will preparation sometimes brings us in contact with terminally ill people. Such clients have often been given life expectancy time frames and wish to ‘get their affairs in order’. Whilst everyone’s circumstances are different there are some ‘essential documents’ that should be put in place to ensure that your wishes both before and after you die… Read more »
Gifts in Estate Planning
May 21st, 2015 by | Wills & Estate Planning
There are benefits to making gifts during your lifetime as opposed to waiting until your death to pass on your inheritance. However, there are also potential pitfalls if such gifts are not properly considered in light of your estate planning as a whole. Anyone can give another person an inter vivos gift (i.e. given during… Read more »
Superannuation and Estate Planning
March 2nd, 2015 by | Wills & Estate Planning
It is often said that superannuation is an asset generally dealt with separately from your Will and the rest of your Estate. It doesn’t have to be and, depending on the situation, a carefully considered distribution of superannuation is often integral to good estate planning (and reducing the tax impost on your beneficiaries). In many… Read more »
Joint Tenants vs Tenants-in-Common
November 1st, 2012 by | Conveyancing, Property & Leases, Wills & Estate Planning
The consequences of not understanding the difference between joint tenants vs tenants in common can be costly. For example, how you own a property will determine whether your share of the property is passed down to your beneficiaries under the terms of your Will, or whether it becomes the property of the other surviving owners… Read more »
