The longer we live, the more we may depend upon others — family members, friends, and professional carers. Australia now has one of the highest life expectancies in the world. That longevity is welcome, but it brings with it a sobering reality: the longer we live, the more time there is for those around us to take advantage.
Most people, when they think of estate planning, think of Wills, trusts, and the distribution of assets. These are the hard, structural elements of a plan — the legal architecture that determines who receives what, and when. They are undeniably important. But there is another dimension that is just as significant and far less often addressed: the softer side.
Dementia is now among Australia’s leading causes of death. The number of Australians living with dementia is projected to rise significantly in the decades ahead as the population continues to age and curative treatments remain elusive. For families and individuals, the implications extend far beyond medical care. Dementia reaches into estate planning, legal capacity, and financial security in ways that too few people address until it is too late.
For most parents, providing for their children is a fundamental motivation for estate planning. Yet for a growing number of families, the question of how to provide for an adult child is far from straightforward. When a child has a gambling problem, a substance dependency, an unsuitable or unstable relationship, or simply a demonstrated inability to manage money, leaving them an unconditional inheritance may do more harm than good.
This article addresses the estate planning options available to South Australian Will-makers who are concerned about leaving assets to vulnerable or financially unreliable adult children, under the Succession Act 2023 (SA) and related legislation.
Choosing a person to care for your children is difficult. In fact, for many families, it’s the hardest part of planning their estate.
It’s not easy to think of anyone else, no matter how loving, raising your child.
The problem only gets harder if your child has a disability.
Yet, you can make a tremendous difference in your child’s life by planning ahead.
Include Pets in Your Estate Plan
Most of us consider our pets part of the family. But sometimes we don’t think about including them in plans for what happens when we die or can no longer look after ourselves.
Do you have a family member that can’t be trusted to responsibly deal with money?
Maybe they are too young or too old to maturely handle a substantial inheritance. Perhaps they have mental or psychological illnesses.
Perhaps they are addicted to illicit drugs, gambling or alcohol. Or maybe they’re just a fool with money, and are too impulsive to ever save or stick to a budget.
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:
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.
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.