Estate Planning Services.

What needs to be considered?

A Will 

One of the core pillars of estate planning is preparing and updating a Will. A Will dictates how your money and physical assets should be distributed after you die.

While it’s not compulsory in Australia to have a Will, the document can help to prevent unpleasant situations where wealth is contested by multiple people after your death, sometimes over many years. A Financial Planner can provide information and guidance on formulating a holistic Estate Plan. 

This may include the following: the structuring of investments, tax minimisation, asset protection, binding nominations. Advisers may also identify gaps in your estate plan and recommend you seek professional legal advice to review and update your Will and powers of attorney.

It’s important to remember that in every state except Tasmania, divorce invalidates a Will, which means a fresh Will will need to be written. 

Life insurance

If you have life insurance, your nominated beneficiary may receive a lump sum pay out in the unfortunate event of your early death. As such, it’s important to make sure that your policy is kept up to date, especially if your circumstances have changed (such as marriage, divorce or a beneficiary passing away).

Superannuation

It’s common for people to think that superannuation is lumped in with the estate, however, this is often not the case. Instead, the deceased person’s superannuation benefits are frequently paid directly to the beneficiaries or dependents.

People can have greater control over where their super ends up with a binding death nomination, which tells the trustee of the fund explicitly where to send the benefits if the fund member passes away.