Skip to main content

Estate & Succession Planning

It’s not something anyone likes to think about, but estate and succession planning is essential if you want to ensure your family and business partners are protected when you’re no longer around.

At Merthyr Law, we make sure we understand your unique set of circumstances so we can offer expert advice and structure your affairs to keep your assets in the right hands.

Our Family Safe® Program ensures we regularly review your estate planning. As a result, we stay on top of any changes in your personal circumstances and make the necessary adjustments when there are changes in the law.

You owe it to your loved ones to keep your Family Safe by investing in an effective estate and succession plan rather than leaving them with your mess to sort out. And by making a clear plan, you can also protect your assets against attack from the family court or bankruptcy.

In addition, estate and succession planning effectively limits potential disputes among beneficiaries, helping to keep family feuds at bay.

Merthyr Law can assist clients with the following estate and succession planning issues:

  • Minimising the risk of family provisions claims
  • Complex estate planning for blended families
  • Using testamentary trusts to maximise a family’s after tax money
  • Using testamentary trust wills to protect inheritances from bankruptcy and divorce
  • Using Family Safe Trusts to help ensure inheritances remain in the family rather than being lost to in-laws through divorce
  • Advising on options to minimise disputes between beneficiaries
  • Advising on incapacity
  • Pursuing and defending family provision claims
  • Administering estates
  • Deeds of family arrangement and helping avoid potential disputes between beneficiaries
  • Disputes over incapacity and undue influence
  • Ensuring your superannuation ends up in the right hands
  • Superannuation death benefit disputes
  • Helping ensure that Wills are prepared by experts to help ensure that they are safe from attack for alleged incapacity, undue influence or other defect
  • Drafting wills to adequately deal with complex financial structures and arrangements
  • Restructuring business assets to help ensure equal inheritances between children
  • Advance health directives
  • Trust and equity disputes
  • Statutory wills
  • Elder abuse

Download our brochure:

9 Ways To Keep Your Assets In The Right Hands

Download
9 Ways To Keep Your Assets In The Right Hands

Our Estate & Succession Planning Team

Steve Grant
Steve Grant

Director

Captain Caveman

Kieran Hoare
Kieran Hoare

ILP Director

Super Man

Emma Pradella
Emma Pradella

Associate

Co-Emma-cial

Jacqui Pead
Jacqui Pead

Trainee Solicitor

Princess Paralegal

Lauren Kettleton
Lauren Kettleton

Senior Associate

The Lifesaver

Carol Taylor
Carol Taylor

Senior Associate

The Will Maker

Melinda Ranson
Melinda Ranson

Senior Associate

The Guardian

Peter Blennerhassett
Peter Blennerhassett

Senior Associate

The Guiding Light

Ready to make a start?

Our online systems allow you to get started anywhere, any time.

Get Started Online

Have a question?

Estate & Succession Planning FAQ’s

What will happen if I don’t make a Will?

If you die without making a Will, your assets will be distributed according to a strict formula set down by the Law. This may mean

  • you will have no say in how your estate is administered or distributed and your wishes may not be considered; 
  • the costs to administer your estate will be higher, leaving less for your loved ones; 
  • there is a higher likelihood of disputes between family members and beneficiaries; 
  • assets, such as the family home or car, may need to be sold, so beneficiaries can claim their share of the assets; 
  • the surviving spouse owns the family home and other assets jointly with the children; 
  • members of your family with special needs may not be provided adequate support; and 
  • administration of your assets will be delayed, potentially causing hardship for loved ones. 

Choosing the most effective Will – What does it do?

Creating a Will is not like fixing a car. You won’t get a chance to fix it once it breaks down and the consequences of a faulty Will can be disastrous for your loved ones, once you have gone. Your Will sets out: 

  • Who administers your estate and enforces your Will. 
  • Who receives your assets after you pass away. You may have particular items you want to go to a particular person for family or personal reasons. 
  • Who will be the Guardian for your children under 18 years. 
  • What you want to happen to your body – i.e. whether you wish to be buried or cremated, or have your ashes scattered somewhere important to you. 

If you don’t have a Will, you will not have a say in how your assets will be distributed and who distributes them. 

I don’t really have enough assets, do I need a Will?

Ten years ago, your most valuable single asset may have been your family home. Now, the lion’s share of your wealth is likely to be held within your superannuation fund. It’s easy to forget your superannuation, life insurance policies and other assets when thinking about your ‘estate’. 

In addition, your self-managed superannuation needs special consideration to prevent non-compliance or adverse taxation consequences upon death. 

Without an up-to-date Will that makes accommodation for these assets, they may never end up with the loved ones that you intended to have them. Everyone should prepare a Will for peace of mind and to ensure their wishes are fulfilled in the event of their death. 

When should I update my Will?

You can change your Will at any time you choose but there are certain circumstances that revoke your Will and others where it is strongly recommended that you review your Will. 

  • Marriage automatically revokes your current Will unless it specifically states that it is made in contemplation of marriage. 
  • If you divorce, your divorced spouse is not entitled to any gifts under your Will. 
  • If you are separated but not yet divorced, you should review your Will as soon as possible. 
  • Whenever there are significant changes to your circumstances or those of your intended beneficiaries, you should review your Will. 
  • Your Will should be reviewed yearly but at least every five years. 

What is an Enduring Power of Attorney?

A Power of Attorney is a written agreement recognised by law that gives someone else the power to sign documents and make decisions on your behalf. An Enduring Power of Attorney is an agreement that continues to have force even after you become incapable of making decisions for yourself. An Enduring Power of Attorney can empower the attorney to make decisions not only about financial matters but also personal matters which include: 

  • Where you live and with whom; 
  • Day-to-day issues like dress and diet; and 
  • The type of health care you will receive. 

You are able to nominate a trusted person or persons (often a family member) to be your attorney and can limit their powers when appointing them. 

What protection can Testamentary Trust Will's provide from the Family Court?

Generally, the more control a beneficiary has over their inheritance, the greater the risk of family law property adjustment. See our Family Court Protection Spectrum below.

Click image to enlarge

Can I make a Will for a minor?

Yes. Minors sometimes are recipients of sizeable inheritances or personal injury awards.  Minors do not have capacity to make a Will, and as such, if a minor dies the rules of intestacy apply, meaning that the minor’s inheritance is usually split equally between the surviving parents. If a person believes that the rules of intestacy lead to an unfair outcome, such person can apply to the Court for the Court to order a Statutory Will for a person. 

Can I apply to change my disabled son’s Will so that his estranged father doesn’t receive my son’s personal injuries award under the rules of intestacy?

Yes. This very circumstance happened in the case of RKC v JNS [2014] QSC 313 (link: https://archive.sclqld.org.au/qjudgment/2014/QSC14-313.pdf).  In that case, the son was severely disabled from birth and was the recipient of sizeable personal injury compensation.  The mother was responsible for the care of the disabled child and the father had little to do with the mother or the child.  If the disabled child died without a Will, the inheritance would have been split equally between the father and the mother, despite the father having little to do with the child. In this case, the Court found that it was appropriate to order the disabled child to have a Statutory Will leaving all of his inheritance to the mother. 

Can I apply to change my incapacitated parent’s Will to include Testamentary Trusts?

Yes. At risk business people wish to avoid accumulating wealth in their own name, as litigation may result in such wealth ending up with creditors.

Testamentary Trusts are often used as a vehicle to ensure that inheritances are protected from beneficiaries’ possible creditors and bankruptcy.  In RE Matsis [2012] QSC 349 (link: http://www8.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdoc/au/cases/qld/QSC/2012/349.html)  the Court upheld an application by three sons who were financially at risk for their incapacitated mother’s Will be changed to one containing a testamentary trust. 

Also, testamentary trusts can be used as a vehicle to help protect inheritances from the reach of the Family Court – see Family Court Protection Spectrum.  Merthyr Law successfully made the first application to the Court for an incapacitated mother’s Will to be changed to a Will containing Testamentary Trusts in order to ensure that the mother’s inheritance did not end up with the daughter-in-law who had recently separated from the son and was involved in Family Court Property proceedings – see GUA v GAV [2014] QCA 308. 

Can Statutory Wills Applications be used to resolve a potential estate/family provision dispute whilst my incapacitated father is still alive?

Sometimes everybody knows that there is going to be estate litigation between the children once the parents pass away.  In circumstances where the surviving parent is incapacitated, Statutory Will arrangements, combined with a Deed of Family Arrangement, where the beneficiaries agree not to challenge the Will can be used as an effective means to help ensure there is a fair distribution between the children and to minimise the risk of estate litigation after the parent’s passing.  NSW is the only jurisdiction that enables a person under section 95 of the Succession Act 2006  to release that person’s right to seek a Family Provision Order.  As such, in NSW, it is possible for an incapacitated Will to be changed and for potential claimants to relinquish their right to make a Family Provision Claim in the one application – see Re RB, A Protected Estate Family Settlement [2015] NSWSC 70.  

What are the laws of Intestacy?

If the testator has never made a Will and no Statutory Will has been ordered, that person is called an “intestate” (meaning dying without a Will).  The laws of intestacy in Queensland provide that an intestate person’s estate is distributed as follows:

Click image to enlarge

If the distribution on intestacy is reasonable in the circumstances and fairly likely to be what the Testator would have wanted, there ought to be no need to apply for a Statutory Will. 

However, if the distribution on intestacy leads to a result that is not fair or not likely to be what the testator would have wanted had they had capacity, it may be worthwhile applying to the Court for a Statutory Will. 

Estate & Succession Planning News

Sign Up