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ESTATE PLANNING LAWYERS MELBOURNE- PROTECT YOUR FAMILY’S FUTURE
Strategic estate planning helps ensure that your assets go to the right people when you pass. Our estate planning lawyers in Melbourne help you use Wills, testamentary trusts, and other legal mechanisms to make that happen.
Strategic estate planning
Using legal mechanisms to make sure your estate is distributed correctly when you die, in a way that minimises tax liability and other risks.
What’s Involved in Strategic Estate Planning?
Strategic estate planning is a comprehensive way to plan for the distribution of your assets when you die.
The foundation of all estate planning is a professionally drafted Will, which should be developed in consultation with your solicitor.
Although some Wills can be straightforward, having complex family situations, a large estate, international assets, or commercial interests means you might need a more nuanced approach.
Estate planning also involves general succession planning, like recording accesses for digital properties, as well as business succession planning, which helps make sure any businesses you own are inherited with minimal disruption.
Finally, you’ll also need to think about things like superannuation (who gets it and how it’s paid out) and power of attorney.
Why Is Estate Planning Important?
Undertaking estate planning has four main benefits:
- You control who gets what when you die, ensuring that your legacy passes into the right hands.
- You minimise the legal costs associated with poor estate planning or dying intestate.
- You minimise your estate’s tax liability.
- You reduce the risk of family provision claims and ensure that your assets are protected if you’re ever affected by bankruptcy or divorce.
The consequences of not engaging in estate planning can be even more significant than the benefits.
You could, for example, incur huge CGT liabilities if assets are realised and distributed in the wrong way.
If you leave the totality of your superannuation to be distributed as a death benefit, your beneficiaries will have to pay death benefit tax on it.
Your estate could incur significant legal costs if a family member feels left out of your Will and lodges a family provision claim.
A range of problems can arise from not undertaking estate planning, which is why making proper arrangements before you die is the most cost-effective thing to do.
Talking to Loved Ones About Estate Planning
Death is a normal part of life, but not everyone feels comfortable talking about it.
If you’re concerned that your parents or loved ones haven’t engaged in estate planning yet, it can be worth raising the topic in a sensitive but frank way.
Some people associate estate planning and making a Will with dying, so it’s important to assure them that’s not the case.
Estate planning is just like taking out home insurance – you probably won’t need it, but having it in place is the smart thing to do.
You can also highlight the practical consequences of not making a Will, such as the legal costs of dying intestate, or how family provision claims can cause deep rifts in family relationships.
You can even finalise your own estate planning before talking to them – doing so can help show them that there’s nothing to be scared of.
Our estate planning lawyers in Melbourne believe in a personalised, compassionate approach to law.
With solicitors fluent in nine different languages, we engage with Victorians in ways that they understand, leading to better legal outcomes.
Book a free 30-minute consultation with our team of real estate lawyers in Melbourne to find out how we can help.
Estate Planning Checklist for Victorians
- Assets and Liabilities
- Accesses and Beneficiaries
- Your Will
- Succession Planning
- Nominations and Appointments
- Have you created a list of all assets, physical and non-physical, with their approximate values? Make sure you include shares, trust units, and other financial investments.
- Have you totalled any liabilities with their approximate values, including mortgages, credit card debt, and student debt?
- Have you valued your business, if you have one, along with its assets and liabilities?
- Have you composed a list of loved ones you want to leave your possessions to?
- Have you compiled a list of accesses to online accounts, including social media, crypto wallets, emails, and subscription accounts?
- Have you written a statement of wishes?
- Do you have a professionally drafted, up-to-date Will that reflects your wishes?
- Have you considered the administration of your estate, including the role that structures like testamentary trusts could play?
- Have you created a succession plan for any businesses you own?
- Have you appointed an executor?
- Have you appointed an attorney?
- Have you appointed a medical decision-maker?
- Have you developed an advance health directive?
- Have you made a funeral plan?
- Have you made a binding death benefit nomination?
Your Law Team
Penny LaGreca
Partner | Principal Solicitor
Penny is a leading family law solicitor admitted in the Supreme Court of Victoria.
She has a broad range of expertise across multiple practice areas like family law, Wills and estate planning, and personal injuries, and is currently completing a Masters of Family Law.
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Practical Guides to Estate Planning
When you’re preparing for your consultation with one of our team, reading up on the basics of estate planning can be helpful.
Get started with our library of easy-to-read articles and guides.
Estate Planning FAQs
What documents are needed for estate planning?
To effectively plan for the administration of your estate when you die, you should have the following documents:
- A professionally drafted, signed, and up-to-date Will
- An enduring power of attorney appointment (EPOA)
- An advance care directive
- A medical decision-maker appointment
- A list of beneficiaries with up-to-date contact details
- A list of accesses to digital properties, such as crypto wallets
Your solicitor may also recommend other documents based on your personal circumstances.
How do I pick an estate planning attorney?
Think about what you need. Do you have a complex family situation with multiple marriages or stepchildren? How large is your estate? What sort of assets compose it?
If your estate planning needs are relatively straightforward, choose an estate planning lawyer from a reputable firm, especially if you’ve already had a good experience with them before. If your needs are highly complex, consider practitioners who are experts in estate planning – they may be better suited to setting up complex structures.
You can find solicitors by Googling phrases like “estate planning lawyer Melbourne” and reviewing the top ten search results. You can also ask other professionals you trust, like your accountant, for a referral – accountants and estate planning lawyers often work closely together.
Importantly, always make sure that your solicitor is unbiased. Never choose someone who is friends with or related to you or potential beneficiaries of your estate.
How much does estate planning cost?
Estate planning can vary hugely in cost depending on your needs. A simple Will, for example, might start at $250, but the cost will rise if you need other documents like an EPOA or tailored advice in relation to structures like testamentary trusts.
To get an accurate quote for your estate planning, book a 30-minute free consultation with one of our estate planning solicitors.
What does fair estate planning look like with a second marriage?
Legally, ‘fair’ estate planning means providing adequately for your partners, ex-partners, children, and other dependents or eligible people. What ‘fair’ looks like in practice varies from person to person.
To make sure your estate gets distributed in accordance with your wishes, it’s important to have a professionally drafted, up-to-date Will that reflects the current state of your relationships. To assist with the estate planning process, you can explore options like testamentary trusts, which are activated upon your death and give your executor more control over how your assets are distributed.
Other considerations include making a binding death benefit nomination for your super and jointly holding certain assets with your current partner, which will result in those assets being owned wholly by them when you die.
Keep in mind that not treating family members fairly under your Will increases the risk of family provision claims. To find out how you can approach estate planning strategically, book a free consultation with our estate planning team.
