Every adult Australian needs a Will, but this often gets overlooked. Confronting our own mortality and making an estate plan makes some people uncomfortable.
There’s no law that says you must have an estate plan—but there are laws in every State and Territory in Australia that determine how your property is distributed if you don’t have a Will.
So, are you happy to let the Government decide who gets your assets?
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When you can’t make important decisions for yourself regarding accommodation, lifestyle, health or medical treatment, an Advance Care Directive is the shining beacon that guides your family and doctors in the right direction.
An Advance Care Directive (ACD) is a legally-binding document that directs how you would like to be treated if you cannot express your wishes, and is made up of three parts:
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The last time Australia had a federal Labor Government, they commissioned a review of Australia’s tax system, and an inheritance tax was one of the key recommendations.
On 15 October 2009 the most senior tax-policy advisor to the Australian Federal Government, Dr Ken Henry (Chair – Australia’s Future Tax System Review Panel and Secretary to the Treasury) gave an Address to the Committee for Economic Development of Australia.
In that address he identified 6 areas of future opportunities and challenges governments will need to address in respect to taxation. At the very top of his list was: “the ageing of the population, posing challenges for the financing of retirement incomes and of increasing health and aged care needs”.
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Coping with the death of a parent is challenging enough, and selling their home can be an added stress for children.
Grieving family members may be unable to make decisions. Unless someone takes charge, the home might fall into disrepair.
Siblings may also have emotional attachments to it or unrealistic expectations about the value of the home.
It’s all made even worse, if the parent dies without a Will.
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A while ago I published a report entitled Top 10 Estate Planning Predictions for Australia.
This report stated that, over the next 10 years, Australia will face significant challenges as it attempts to balance its books while enormous numbers of Baby-Boomers exit the scene.
It concluded that the State & Federal Governments (of all political persuasions) will need to make some difficult choices to address these challenges, and attempt to cling onto our desirable quality of life.
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As a matter of law an entitlement under a superannuation fund does not automatically form part of the assets of a deceased estate.
All superannuation funds in Australia are trusts, which are governed by their respective deeds of trust, subject to the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993 (Cth), and administered by a trustee who holds a discretion in terms of the persons whom the trustee decides should receive the superannuation trust fund proceeds.
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Turning 50 used to mean that it was time to begin thinking about retiring. That is not the case anymore. Now 50 is just middle-aged, with another quarter-century of busy productive life ahead.
To paraphrase Kermit the frog – “It’s not easy being wise”. I thought turning 50 would mean that things slowed down, calmed down and got easier. Instead, the pace of life seems to be quickening.
Turning 50 is a good time to start thinking about what you’ve learned so far, and reflecting on maybe becoming a “modern elder” and sharing some stories and wisdom with people who are finding their own paths a bit too challenging today.
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Estate planning is not solely about preparing a Will, and with progressive illnesses you need to think about estate planning as planning for the future stages of your disease as it progresses.
The life planning portion of estate planning can be very different for a person with a progressive illness than a person without.
Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, Muscular Dystrophy, Multiple Sclerosis, Macular Degeneration: there are dozens of illnesses that are progressive and (so far) incurable. They require special care from an estate planning perspective.
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Generational change in attitudes mean that more people than ever before are now prepared to challenge a Will if they don’t get what they regard as a fair share
A recent survey in the UK reveals that one in four people would mount a legal challenge against a loved one’s Will or estate if they were unhappy with it.
UK Court statistics confirm such disputes are on the rise, reflecting the increased readiness of family members to oppose a relative’s last wishes, with a record number of inheritance disputes now reaching Court.
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When executors goes bad, and what to do about it…
Several times each month, my phone will ring, and someone will tell me about a family member who is doing the wrong thing in the administration of a deceased estate.
It’s often a sibling. For some reason, some brothers and sisters can have a rivalry that borders on all-out warfare. There have been times when I’ve had sibling-executors in my office who couldn’t agree on the colour of an orange! (The expression ‘cats and dogs’ comes to mind).
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