You’re not alone. Every Australian family will be affected by dementia. As we get older, we need to have in place some important legal documents to protect ourselves, our family and our assets. If you wait too long, it could be too late.
In 2021 dementia affects almost 50 million people worldwide, which is predicted to increase to 131.5 million people by 2050.
Every three seconds another person somewhere in the world develops dementia.
It’s been 40 years since Australia last imposed formal death duties (also known as Inheritance Tax) and 13 years since the Henry tax review (also known as Australia’s Future Tax System Review).
Now with all the pandemic payments being made by State and Federal Governments, all the treasurers are looking around for a convenient honeypot to raid.
Since the Baby Boomers are the ones with the assets, they are a logical target of Government ambition.
Baby Boomers could be asked to sell the family home when they die to pay for aged care costs under a plan to slap an effective death tax on seniors to fund care.
The end of a relationship is tough. The loss of dreams and expectations can be heartbreaking.
When separating, every conversation becomes all about looking after the kids and dividing up your property.
However, now that you are no longer a couple, you also need to give some urgent attention to your estate planning.
Failing to update your estate planning documents can have serious consequences for you, your assets and your children.
Do domestic and de facto partners have the same rights as people who are married?
The short answer is no with a ‘but’. The longer answer is maybe, with an ‘it depends’.
You might be wondering if you have the right to:
Claim your partner’s superannuation death benefits?
Challenge a Will or an estate if your partner has not made adequate provision for you?
In Australia pets cannot own property, because pets are themselves regarded as property.
This means that – unlike children – there are no automatic laws relating to the care and custody of our beloved pets if we die or become incapacitated.
Whilst the rules around child custody are clear, it’s not the same for pets. Pets aren’t mentioned in any succession or family legislation at all and it is left to the Courts to decide who gets the family pet.
One of the duties of an executor in administering an estate is to satisfy any outstanding debts owed by the deceased upon their death.
An executor who is aware of an outstanding claim by a creditor, or a possible claim against the estate, but nevertheless distributes the estate, may be personally liable to the creditor.
Although there is no requirement in South Australia to advertise for creditors, it is generally advisable to do so in order to enjoy the protection afforded to estate executors and trustees by s. 29 of the Trustee Act 1929 (SA).
Have you ever suspected that there might be a disconnect between social media on the one hand, and real life on the other? Yeah, me too.
And, have you noticed that the (generally anonymous) people who shout the loudest, often are bitter and judgmental about everyone that doesn’t conform to their particular bias?
So I probably shouldn’t be surprised that some people who hate lawyers are very loud on social media about making their own Wills.
Some misinformed people choose to believe that administering a deceased estate is simple and easy, and therefore they think that they can save the estate some money by doing it themselves, without a specialist lawyer to assist them.
Those people don’t realise that for the executor of the Will of a deceased person in South Australia, DIY means taking all the risk upon themselves for no reward.
Why? Because he was a busy person who preferred to have it done for him, and he believed (justifiably) that the chef in the kitchen had access to professional carving knives that would make sharper cleaner cuts than Elvis could achieve for himself.
The ‘King’ recognised the efficiency of employing a specialist to do something better than he could do for himself.
You remember the famous words “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day, teach a man to fish and you feed him for life!”
After 37 years in legal practice, there isn’t much that still surprises Rod Genders.
He’s pretty much seen it all.
His law firm is the oldest in South Australia – established in 1848 – and like his father and his grandfather before him, Genders has spent his entire working life in the law, helping generations of Australian families to sort out a multitude of legal issues.
His areas of expertise are Wills and estates, and he describes witnessing a massive increase in litigation in these areas.