Effective Estate Planning
Estate or succession planning has been described by one Australian authority as the transfer of family resources from one generation to another in a manner that optimises the family’s overall financial position.

At the heart of an effective estate plan is a modern Will which deals specifically with life insurance proceeds, superannuation, guardianship of children, business assets or family trusts, matters almost never covered by “simple wills”. A modern Will should also offer tax and other protections to your beneficiaries through employing discretionary testamentary trusts to shield inheritances from the impact of divorce, bankruptcy and other disabilities.

Testamentary Trusts
A testamentary trust is a trust created by a will. It is generally a discretionary trust – one where the Trustee has full discretion about who benefits, and to what extent, under the trust.

Business Succession Planning
What is business succession planning? This question was posed in a recent report* based on a nationwide survey of Australian Family Businesses. The authors concluded that in addition to a property or business entity being transferred, so is a family occupation, a family heirloom and family values.

Enduring Powers Of Attorney
It is often necessary to give to someone else the legal authority to act for us in certain circumstances. This can be done using a power of attorney, a legal document that appoints one person (the attorney) to act on behalf of another (the principal or donor) in relation to their property and financial affairs.

Enduring Guardianship...Planning Ahead
We all prefer to decide for ourselves where we live and what medical treatment and services we have. Unfortunately this is not always possible. Every day people are involved in accidents or become sick. Sometimes this can lead to them being unable to make decisions for themselves.

Superannuation…what you need to know
When you die the Trustee of your super fund decides on the dependants who receive your super. Many people are blissfully unaware that their entire super, and often their insurance benefits, are up for grabs amongst the dependants they leave behind.