Estate Planning

Contrary to popular belief, estate planning isn’t just for the wealthy, later or just about a will!

Proper consideration of estate planning issues has the ultimate advantage of helping your family during a challenging and emotional time. A well-structured estate plan protects your family’s security and privacy and will allow easier, cheaper and faster management and distribution of assets for your loved ones. On the other hand, a poorly constructed estate plan—or no estate plan at all—may lead to time delays, a greater tax obligation, and increased costs.

Without an estate plan, you also run the risk of your assets being distributed to beneficiaries in ways you wouldn’t have necessarily chosen.

Why You Need An Estate Plan now

Estate planning isn’t just about making a will—it’s about protecting your assets and your loved ones, so that the right people receive the right assets at the right time.

Not all assets are automatically covered by your will. Assets such as superannuation, life insurance proceeds, family trust assets, company assets, or jointly held property may require separate planning. Decisions you make now—such as investment ownership structures or whether to use a trust—can have significant implications later.

Life events, such as the birth of a child, engagement, wedding, or other significant commitment ceremonies, are often ideal occasions to review estate planning issues with you and your family.

Regardless of where you are along life’s journey or your particular financial circumstances, starting a conversation around estate planning today can help you prepare for unexpected events in the future.

Estate Planning Can Help You To:

A well-prepared estate plan helps you:

Purchase investments in the correct ‘name’
Protect your beneficiaries by ensuring they receive the right assets, in the right way, at the right time for their needs and circumstances.
Protect your assets and beneficiaries from unnecessary disputes and risks.
Minimise the time and expense associated with settling your estate at the time of your passing.
Address important tax and legal considerations, including income tax, capital gains tax, land tax and stamp duty.
Provide certainty that your wishes will be followed, while reducing stress and conflict for your family.
Identify and nominate who will take care of any minor children.

And, Estate Planning isn’t just about what happens after you pass away. A will only details what should happen after you pass away. Therefore, you should also appoint a Power of Attorney to make decisions on your behalf during your lifetime, should you become temporarily or permanently unable to manage them yourself through illness, injury or physical/mental impairment.

A Power of Attorney can be appointed to

Manage your assets and financial affairs;
Make medical decisions on your behalf, and the appointment can also provide details of the life-sustaining medical care you wish to receive (or not receive); and/or
Make decisions about your personal care going forward.

You can nominate the same person or persons to make all these categories of decisions, or you can appoint different people for different categories.

Avoiding Family Conflicts

The last thing any of us want is to have conflicts within the family, especially during such a difficult time.

However, the reality is that many of us simply fail to have adequate estate planning documents and structures in place. Should an unexpected illness or death of a family member occur, it can have serious ramifications at an already stressful time and lead to conflict and relationship breakdown.

An effective Estate Plan can also protect the privacy of the estate, family and beneficiaries.

A legal will is just one part of an effective estate plan. Other documents and legal structures that may be relevant (depending on your circumstances) include Powers of Attorney, Trusts, Superannuation Death Benefit Nomination, Appointment of Enduring Guardian, and an Advance Care Directive (also known as a living will).

Your Will And Superannuation Considerations

It is important to understand that your superannuation benefits do not necessarily get distributed in accordance with your will. So further consideration of your superannuation accounts is required.

Superannuation benefits are held in a trust that a trustee controls. This means that these superannuation benefits are distributed at the trustee’s discretion, unless a Death Benefit Nomination has been completed. Therefore, superannuation benefits do not necessarily form part of an individual’s estate, and if not, they may not be distributed per the instructions in their will. Many superannuation funds also offer life insurance as a benefit to members, so it’s not just the accumulated retirement savings that are at stake, but possibly a substantial amount of money in life insurance when the member passes away. This is where putting a Superannuation Death Benefit Nomination in place is essential to ensure that your benefits are distributed as you want eg to your Legal Personal Representative (so the proceeds do go to your estate to be distributed per your will) or direct to particular dependent beneficiaries.

Estate planning is a complex area that requires careful planning and the right advice from qualified professionals.

As such, you should always consult with financial advisors and legal professionals who have expertise in estate planning. Effective estate planning can provide you with a great deal of comfort and peace of mind that comes from knowing that your affairs are in order and that the needs of your loved ones will be met long after you’re gone.

Speak with the team at Everalls Wealth Management today for help navigating your Estate Planning needs.

Estate Equalisation Strategies

Estate equalisation strategies deal with the implications of splitting an Estate when the assets are “lumpy” (eg businesses or properties) or you want particular assets to go to specific beneficiaries equitably or inequitably between the Children or Beneficiaries. For example, the estate may include some property and some cash, and you want one child to receive the property, but there isn’t enough cash for the other child to make their inheritance equal.

Talk to our team about strategies available.