Articles | Genders and Partners

Rod Genders Podcast Episode #1: What Is Testamentary Capacity?

Medical science is keeping us alive for longer than ever before, and the Australian population is ageing fast. Dementia already affects approximately 160 000 Australians.

Dementia affects about 10% of those aged over 65 years, and 20% of those over 80 years suffer from severe dementia. Frighteningly, Alzheimer’s Australia says we can expect a 300% increase in the numbers of dementia patients in the next 30 years.

Senior Australian lawyer Rod Genders discusses how mental health affects a person’s legal capacity to make decisions in their own best interests.

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More Weird Probate Issues

Making a Will is a serious business, right? It details how you wish your estate to be distributed, who benefits and by how much.

… because our last post Weird Probate Issues was so popular, here we go again …

But we can still chuckle at the efforts of other people when they outrageously stuff-up their own estate plans. (We’ll suppress our schadenfreude with the thought that this is all educational. ‘Schadenfreude’ is the German term for the guilty pleasure derived from another person’s misfortune.)

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Weird Probate Issues

If you’ve been named the executor of a Will, you might experience a wide range of emotions upon your loved one’s passing.

In addition to going through the grieving process, you might feel overwhelmed by your responsibilities in carrying out the deceased’s wishes.

You may have even heard horror stories about probate that leave you wondering where to begin, but you can relax knowing that your specialist estate lawyer at Genders & Partners can help you navigate any obstacles you face regarding probate & deceased estates in Adelaide.

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Genders and Partners | 7 Reasons why Australian women outlive their Estate Plan

7 Reasons why Australian women outlive their Estate Plan – and what to do about it

Australian women’s life expectancy is now at its highest ever recorded, and is one of the highest in the world, according to recently released research from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

The average life expectancy for females is now 84.6 years and for males it is 80.4 years, and these figures demonstrate huge gains in life expectancy over the last century since the Aged Pension was initially introduced in Australia in 1909 when the average life expectancy was below the eligibility age.

At that time it was anticipated that most people would not live long enough to receive the pension, and those that did would not get it for long.

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Wills In Adelaide: The Responsibilities Of An Estate Executor

What Does an Executor of a Deceased Estate Do?

Your loved one has entrusted you to administer their estate, and you probably feel overwhelmed with the burden of this responsibility in the midst of your grief. Depending on the size of the estate, your duties can become quite complicated, but the Adelaide Probate & Estate law specialists at Genders & Partners can guide you through the process to ensure that you carry out your responsibilities with a minimum of stress.

Locating the Will and Safeguarding Assets
As executor, your first job after the person’s death is to locate the original Will, which may be with the deceased’s important papers or held securely at a trustee company or lawyer’s office. If you do not have the original in hand right away, you can still work with a copy to familiarise yourself with the contents and make funeral arrangements according to the person’s wishes.

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Critical Importance of Making a Will to Protect Children’s Inheritance From Previous Relationships

Critical Importance of Making a Will to Protect Children From Previous Relationships

Blended families include children form previous relationships (step-children). They are growing quickly in number, but many people do not stop and think about the implications on children from previous relationships if they die without a Will. It is a dangerous assumption that the law will automatically protect your biological and step children, as numerous scenarios can preclude or reduce the amount that they receive after you die if you do not seek the counsel of an experienced Wills lawyer in Adelaide.

What Happens If You Die Without a Will?
South Australian law provides that, depending on the size of your estate, your children from previous relationships may receive nothing if you die intestate. For estates valued at less than $100,000, the entire estate goes to the surviving spouse or domestic partner unless a valid Will is in place. For larger estates, your spouse is entitled to the first $100,000, your personal belongings and half of the estate’s balance. Without litigation, at best your children will receive equal shares of the remaining balance (if any).

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End-of-Life Planning

Deciding how you want to live out your last days is a touchy subject for most people, but if you don’t take the time to do so now, you and your loved ones could end up suffering needlessly. While you are still of sound mind, you need to determine whom you trust to make decisions about your lifestyle and medical care if you are ever incapacitated.

An expert Adelaide estate planning lawyer can document your end-of-life wishes with an Advance Care Directive to help you attain peace of mind about your future and get back to the business of living in the moment.

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Estate Planning Complications of a Lost Will

Failing to keep your estate planning documents safe can cause major complications, for you and your family.

In South Australia, the simple form of Probate, known as a Grant of Probate in Common Form requires production and surrender of the Last Will and Testament of the deceased. This means that the original signed document must be located as a matter of priority. Otherwise the executor may not be able to deal with the assets of the deceased.

If the original Will cannot be located, the situation may not be hopeless. A different form of Probate, called a Grant of Probate in Solemn Form, may be attempted with a draft or copy of the last known Will of the deceased.

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Family Disputes and Legal Documents in SA

Families aren’t always easy. We’re bound to them by blood and history, circumstance and duty. We love them, and sometimes, if we’re really lucky, we like them too. We rarely get to choose them.

At some point in our lives almost all of us will experience some challenging times in dealing with individuals in our family.

It could be the consequences of dealing with misfortune such as illness or unemployment.

It could be your son’s unfortunate choice of girlfriend.

Maybe someone has an inflated sense of entitlement & expectation, or is lacking in appreciation for what you’ve done for them.

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Choosing a Guardian for Your Children

What is a testamentary guardian, and why do I need one for my children?
A testamentary guardian is an adult nominated in a parent’s Will to care for their minor children in case both parents die before the children turn 18.

When we have young children, we understand that if one parent dies, the other parent will automatically retain parental responsibility. But in case both parents die prematurely, each needs to nominate in their Will an alternate testamentary guardian for their minor children.

Otherwise your children may end up in a home you wouldn’t choose for them, being parented in a way that’s not in accordance with your values.

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