Rod Genders is a senior Australian lawyer specialising in Wills and Estate Planning, Probate and Estate Administration, Trusts and Guardianship and Inheritance Claims and Contested Estates in South Australia. His boutique specialist law firm, which was founded on 1848, is one of the oldest and most respected in Australia. Rod is an international author and speaker. Rod is the 3rd generation of Genders in the law and has been practising specialised law since the mid 80’s. He has acted as counsel or consultant to in excess of 50 other firms around Australia. Rod holds the SA state record for the highest ever personal injury award of damages, and has been involved in several of the largest personal injury claims in Australian legal history. For over 10 years he served on the Council of the Law Society of South Australia and is a senior member of its Succession Law Committee. Rod was a founding committee member of the South Australian branch of the London-based Society of Trusts and Estate Practitioners (STEP) for 8 years and was the founding Chair of the international STEP Digital Assets Special Interest Group. For over 25 years Rod has chaired a private committee enquiring into the affairs of protected persons. He is a member of the Law Council of Australia, and a member of its Succession and Elder Law Committee.

The Looming World Crisis of Incapacity

The Looming World Crisis of Incapacity in SA

Estate Planning, Planning for Disability and Incapacity, Trusts & Guardianship
The Looming World Crisis of Incapacity

Australia is facing a tsunami of widespread mental incapacity among the largest and wealthiest segment of our population. Advances in mental health have not kept pace with advances in other areas of medical science.

According to Alzheimer’s Australia, more than 340,000 Australians currently have dementia, and that number is expected to reach nearly 900,000 in the next 35 years unless a medical breakthrough occurs. These grim statistics highlight the need for everyone to plan ahead so that their medical and financial needs are met should they ever become mentally incapacitated.

When it comes to Wills & estate planning in Adelaide, you can trust the oldest law firm in South Australia, Genders & Partners to guide you through the tough decisions you must make for your future care and financial welfare.

The Necessity of Getting Your Affairs in Order Now

Estate Planning, Wills, Wills and Estate Planning
The Necessity of Getting Your Affairs in Order Now

Life is unpredictable, and your whole world can change in an instant if you fall ill or sustain a serious injury.

You certainly don’t want to think about your death when you’re in the prime of your life, but there are numerous good reasons to consult with an Adelaide estate planning lawyer as soon as possible.

It may be difficult to face your mortality, but the compassionate team at Genders & Partners will make the legal process of getting your affairs in order as easy as possible so that you can put this unpleasant task behind you and go back to living your life to the fullest.

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Australian Supreme Court says DIY Wills are a curse

Do It Yourself Wills, Estate Planning, Trusts, Wills
Australian Supreme Court says DIY Wills are a curse

Western Australian Supreme Court Master Craig Sanderson has publically stated in a 2014 judgment that “Homemade Wills are a curse,” and inevitably lead to protracted and expensive legal battles in family disputes involving substantial estates.

Master Sanderson said the legal issue around the proper determination of the deceased’s Will could have been avoided if he had “consulted a lawyer and signed off on a Will that reflected his wishes”.

Master Sanderson warned of the dangers of homemade Wills, saying there was no question that engaging a properly qualified and experienced lawyer to draft a Will was “money well spent”.

“But where, as here, the estate of the deceased is substantial, the Will is opaque and there is no agreement among the beneficiaries, the inevitable result is an expensive legal battle which is unlikely to satisfy everyone.”

This view is supported by Rod Genders, who is a senior Australian lawyer specialising in trusts, Wills and estate planning, accident compensation, probate and deceased estate administration in Adelaide and throughout South Australia. His boutique specialist law firm, which was founded on 1848, is one of the oldest and most respected in Australia.

powers-of-attorney-die-with-their-owners

Powers of Attorney die with their owners

Estate Planning, Powers of Attorney, Trusts & Guardianship, Wills and Estate Planning
powers-of-attorney-die-with-their-owners

In the UK recently a person has been fined the equivalent of many thousands of dollars for using an expired power of attorney to withdraw money from the principal’s bank account after her death, even though he acted with the consent of her sole beneficiary (her son).

The agent was a close friend of the deceased, and of her only son. Although aware of her death, over the subsequent weeks he made three withdrawals from her personal bank accounts.

Some of this money went towards funding a property transaction which had been specifically authorised by the deceased before her death.

Other funds were either used for legitimate and authorised estate expenses, or were not used at all and later returned to the estate account.

Estate Planning for Problem Children in SA

Estate Planning for Problem Children in SA

Estate Planning, Trusts & Guardianship, Young Children
Estate Planning for Problem Children

An increasing number of Baby Boomer parents are concerned about leaving unconditional bequests in their Wills to their grown-up children, for fear that they will squander their inheritance.

As parents we love our children and want them to receive the benefit from our hard work after we’re gone.

However, some kids just seem to attract hard luck and trouble, don’t they?  They can be immature, have difficulty holding a job, or are just poor money managers. Some develop a bad and expensive habit, like gambling, drugs or alcohol, while others suffer mental illness.

Then there are the risky-business kids, who constantly fear the door-knock from the bailiffs because they run their businesses on the knife-edge of bankruptcy and litigation.

7 Critical Mistakes Made by Parents of Special Needs Children

7 Critical Mistakes Made by Parents of Special Needs Children

Inheritance Claims & Contested Estates, Special Disability Trust, Trusts, Trusts & Guardianship
7 Critical Mistakes Made by Parents of Special Needs Children

Parents of a child with special needs face unique challenges when planning their estates, and unless they address them correctly, they risk making mistakes that could have long-term, costly consequences for their child.

For example, they may make the child ineligible for important federal government benefits once he or she becomes an adult, and they may leave their child without the financial resources he or she needs to live the same kind of life they provided when they were alive.

The mistakes that parents of a special needs child often make when they are planning their estates can have long-term negative consequences for the child and significantly impact his or her lifestyle once the parents are deceased or become incapacitated and can no longer look out for their special needs son or daughter.

Special Needs Trusts

Special Needs Trusts

Special Disability Trust, Trusts & Guardianship
Special Needs Trusts

Special needs beneficiaries (often children) are those that need extra care because of a disability, such as autism, cerebral palsy, mental retardation, or other physical or mental condition. Many Australian parents have children with special needs and know all too well about the extra care they require, the government benefits they rely on, and the financial challenges they face.

Many families with special needs children need to rely on Medicare and Centrelink to help with the high cost of health care. This financial support can continue throughout the child’s life. Parents and grandparents of special needs children and adults may want to provide for their disabled loved ones in their Will but they do not want to risk losing the child’s eligibility for public benefits. A Special Disability Trust is the answer.

A Special Disability Trust (sometimes called a Special Needs Trust) allows a person with a physical or mental disability to have assets held in a particular type of government-approved trust and those assets will be excluded from consideration for purposes of qualifying for certain government benefits.

Expenses that can be paid for by the trust may be such items as special medical aids & equipment, medical & dental needs, medication, accommodation, entertainment & transportation needs.

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Advance Care Directives in South Australia

Estate Planning, Trusts & Guardianship, Wills, Wills and Estate Planning
Advance Care Directives in South Australia

Since 1st July 2014 this new style of document in South Australia has replaced the older documents known as Medical Power of Attorney, Enduring Power of Guardianship and Natural Death Anticipatory Directive.

This Advance Care Directive document allows you to appoint one or more persons to act as your Substitute Decision Maker, to make decisions for you about your medical & health care treatment and accommodation issues if you’re unable to do so for yourself. This can make all the difference between ensuring your wishes are met in very stressful times, and having treatment and care almost forced upon you against your wishes.

An Advance Care Directive is a legal form that allows people over the age of 18 years to state their wishes, preferences and instructions for future health care, end of life, living arrangements and personal matters and/or

An Advance Care Directive cannot be used to make financial decisions.  This requires a different document known as a Power of Attorney.

retirement-age-raised-to-70

Retirement age raised to 70

Estate Planning, Wills and Estate Planning
https://www.genders.com.au/retirement-age-raised-to-70/

For a long time the official retirement age in Australia was 65 for men and 60 for women.

This was gradually changed to be 65 for everyone. Then the Labor Government increased it to 67 and in April 2014 the Federal Liberal Treasurer Joe Hockey announced the Government’s intention to increase the age of eligibility for the aged pension to 70.

The rationale behind this is that we are living longer on average, and the social security system cannot sustain the current level of payments for a longer period, especially with relatively fewer Australians remaining in the workforce.