Our Services
Wills
Making a Will is one of the most important things that we should do and yet we tend to put it off. It involves admitting to our own mortality and also making decisions that are often difficult. It is one of those things that we will get around to “one day”.
Some things to consider when making a will:
Who is financially dependent on you?
The needs of your children or beneficiaries will not always be the same. How do you address that?
What about your superannuation? Have you nominated a beneficiary to receive the death benefit on your death? Remember that any such nomination must be renewed on a regular basis. If the trustee of the fund pays it out to someone dependent upon you, how will you balance the shares of the other beneficiaries to take that into account? Will the fund pay the balance to your estate? Have you thought of the taxation implications of that?
Has anyone, particularly a child, given up prospects of marriage or a career to care for or assist you? That will need to be properly compensated. A modest allowance would be quite insufficent. It should be substantial.
It might be appropriate to give a beneficiary a right to occupy the family home. Such arrangements can be made in the will in a tax effective way.
Have you already provided for one or more of your children in your lifetime? If so, it might not be necessary to make any, or much, further provision in your will.
Are you proposing to leave nothing to one or more of your children or to a partner or former partner? If so, you should explain why.
If you want to support a charity, do you want it to use the money for a specific purpose? Be certain of the identity of the charity. Sometimes different charities have similar names.
Have you considered organ donation or donating your body to science? Organ donations save lives.
What funeral arrangements would you like? Do you want a religious service? Do you want a burial or cremation? Make your wishes known to your family and spell them out in your will.
Probate, Estate Administration and Litigation
If you are an executor, speak to us about obtaining a grant of probate, which you will usually need before you can access most estate assets. We can also take on a range of other administrative duties you need to delegate in order to wind up the estate, although note that not everything is delegable.
We may also be able to help you in the following circumstances:
You are an executor of an estate facing legal action;
You are seeking to challenge the validity of a will, or better provision for you from a deceased estate;
You were close with someone died without a will and you hope to wind up their affairs;
An executor has died, is unable or unwilling to act, is uncooperative, or you suspect is not carrying out their duties as they are legally required to;
Joint executors are unable to agree;
Any other circumstances related to deceased estates.
Being an executor or administrator comes with big responsibilities. If you make a mistake, you may find yourself in legal trouble. Executors commonly find themselves grieving, with little understanding of their duties, feeling overwhelmed and put to great inconvenience by the role. Fortunately, you can delegate some tasks to solicitors, whose costs should be borne by the estate, not you.
Powers of Attorney
A power of attorney is a document empowering one or more people to act in your name and on your behalf.
There are different types of power of attorney.
An Enduring Power of Attorney
An Enduring Power of Attorney will remain in force even if you lose decision making capacity. The power can be to do anything that you can lawfully do by an attorney, or it can be limited, e.g. to financial matters, or personal matters such as health care and where you live.
It is important to appoint people you trust. Otherwise, if you become incapable, someone will need to apply to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal to have a guardian or trustee appointed instead.
AN APPOINTMENT OF MEDICAL TREATMENT DECISION MAKER
This appoints someone to decide about your medical, psychiatric, palliative or dental treatment if you are not able to. It replaced the old Enduring Medical Power of Attorney in 2018 (but these are still valid).
Your decision maker can consent to or refuse you receiving treatment on your behalf, and should be someone you can trust to carry out your wishes.
If you do not wish to be resuscitated or kept alive artificially, make an Advance Care Directive to ensure your wishes are fulfilled. We cannot prepare this document for you, as it requires the involvement of your doctor.
OTHER PowerS of Attorney
General Power of Attorney (non-enduring): usually given to allow someone to make decisions on your behalf for a limited purpose or period. This power becomes ineffective if you lose “legal capacity” in the eyes of the law.
Supportive Power of Attorney: given when you are still able and willing to make your own decisions, but you need someone’s help to do it. For example, they may make inquiries or obtain information on your behalf.
As part of our service we will advise you which of these we consider is appropriate for your circumstances and your wishes. The preparation and execution of the necessary documents can be included in our Wills/Powers of Attorney package.
Looking Ahead
Getting our affairs in order takes time, so planning for your later years should never be left too late.
Matters that you might not have considered should be thought about and discussed with your partner, family and friends. It might be a temporary burden to sort things out now, but it will save you a lot of worry later on.
These are only some of the questions that you should be asking yourself and discussing with your family:
How do I want to use the time that I have?
Do I need to do anything about my superannuation?
Are there government benefits I might be entitled to?
Should I downsize to smaller or more manageable living accommodation?
Should I live closer to my children?
What should I do with my treasured possessions? Who would want this and who would want that?
Will difficult decisions concerning my healthcare need to be made? What decisions do I want made?
Do not put things off any longer.
Consultation Details and Charges
We will provide an initial general consultation, without charge and without obligation*, and give general advice as to what we think would suit your circumstances in terms of wills and powers of attorney.
If you decide to proceed we will take your instructions and prepare your documents.
We will then arrange a suitable time for the signing and witnessing of the documents.
Our standard fee for preparation of the documents is $660.00 for an individual or, for a couple, $555 for each will, plus GST. The remainder of the service is rendered free of charge except as noted below.
For complex wills and testamentary trusts, we might need to quote you a higher fee according to the work involved.
*Initial consultations are free by phone, video conference (e.g. Zoom), or at our office. Signing appointments are free if held at our office. However, any face-to-face appointments outside of our office attract a travel fee of $100 within an hour’s drive plus $10 per 6 minutes thereafter (GST excl.). If signing documents outside of our office, you will also need to provide a second witness for our solicitor; speak to us for more information about who may witness. Travel fees apply whether or not you then decide to proceed with our services. Clients who live further away may opt for postal wills instead, as then the only surcharge would be for postage.