Genders and Partners

Treating Your Kids Differently in Your Will

Estate Planning, Inheritance Claims & Contested Estates, Wills, Wills and Estate Planning
Treating Your Kids Differently In Your Will

Family relationships can turn into nasty confrontations when it comes to administering a deceased estate and distributing assets. You may think that the way you have decided to distribute your estate in your Will is fair and even-handed, but your wishes may cause more trouble than they are worth when you die.

You should discuss your wishes with the experienced specialist estate planning team in Adelaide at Genders & Partners solicitors, so that you can find and prevent problems before they tear your family apart.

When you consider creating your Adelaide Will you may have good reasons for treating your children differently. If one of your children is in an abusive relationship with their partner, for instance, you probably will not want the abusive partner to get their hands on any of your assets. This can prove to be a difficult situation, and requires special care and attention. Special provision may have to be made to ensure that your assets are protected.

There are situations when one of your children may have lost his or her job due to no fault of their own and you may wish to allocate more of your assets to this person, knowing that it might be difficult for him or her to find employment. These sorts of decisions may seem right to you but they may seem unfair to another hardworking child who feels he or she has missed out on an equal entitlement to your estate.

Genders and Partners

What Is A Will Worth?

Trusts, Wills, Wills and Estate Planning
What Is A Will Worth?

Several times each week, my phone rings, and someone asks me the question: “How much do you charge to make a simple Will?”

I always answer honestly, and provide as much detail as I am able.  I try to ask some questions to inform my understanding of their situation.  Some people resist this type of discussion – they think they know what they want, and now are simply shopping on price.

I can’t help those people.  They don’t want what I have to offer.  They aren’t looking for sensible, practical advice.  They aren’t interested in education. They refuse to consider the possibility that they are not asking the right questions. Their minds are closed.

It’s as if they have diagnosed their own illness, and written their own prescription.  They don’t want a doctor to ask them questions or form an independent assessment of their needs.  They just want the pharmacist to fill the prescription with a minimum of fuss and expense.

Best of luck to them, and to their families. I think they’ll need it.

Genders and Partners

The Benefits of a Discretionary Trust in Estate Planning

Estate Planning, Trusts, Trusts & Guardianship, Videos, Wills, Wills and Estate Planning
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A discretionary trust — frequently called a family trust — is one of the most versatile and powerful tools available in Australian estate planning. This article explains what a discretionary trust is, distinguishes between inter vivos and testamentary trusts, and sets out the principal benefits of incorporating a trust structure into your estate plan.

Genders and Partners

Estate Planning for Blended Families

Blended Families and Divorce, Estate Planning, Wills and Estate Planning
Estate Planning for Blended Families

The term “blended family” refers to a cohabitation relationship in which one or both partners have children from previous relationships. People are often unaware, particularly in cases of unmarried couples and same-sex couples, about what they are legally entitled to when their partners die.

Having children from various relationships just adds to the confusion and often results in unintended consequences —even ex-spouses in some cases making claims against the estate. That is why you need the estate planning assistance of our seasoned estate planning team at the oldest law firm in South Australia.

At Genders & Partners, we will carefully study your family dynamics and help you work out a plan for the distribution of your estate that gives you peace of mind.

Genders and Partners

Estate Planning for Farmers in South Australia

Asset Protection, Estate Planning, Wills, Wills and Estate Planning
Estate Planning for Farmers in South Australia

How many horror stories have you heard about farming families getting torn apart when the farm-owner dies?  In my work as a lawyer specialising in estate planning and probate, I’ve heard quite a few.

They often have a common theme – where a relative (typically a younger son) worked for low wages on the family farm for years, with the expectation that the property would be passed on to them after the owner’s death.

There is a sense of expectation & entitlement – of having earned their inheritance – often fuelled by a lack of discussion or planning by the old owner. Unfortunately, this scenario frequently creates significant problems within the family, especially if there is more than one child wishing to benefit from the farm.  Often the farmland and the business it supports are the major assets of the deceased estate.  It can be difficult enough to generate a decent income from the whole – breaking up the farm to give every child a share may mean that the family farming business cannot continue to be viable.

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The Growing Need for Advance Care Directives

Estate Planning, Planning for Disability and Incapacity, Trusts & Guardianship, Wills, Wills and Estate Planning
The Growing Need for Advance Care Directives

A 2013 report from Alzheimer’s Disease International warns that the number of older people needing care globally is set to nearly treble by 2050 from 101 million currently to 277 million.

Alzheimer’s is the most common cause of dementia or senility. Symptoms include loss of memory, mood changes, and problems with communicating and reasoning.

The report reveals that as the world population ages, the traditional system of informal care by family, friends and the community will need much greater support.

This means that increasing numbers of people aged 60 or over will require long-term care.  This will put huge pressure on families, both emotionally and financially. Carers often have to give up work to look after elderly relatives.

This epidemic of dementia will have specific legal consequences for patients and the people caring for them.  In particular, their loss of mental capacity to make decisions in their own best interests, creates a need to put in place an appropriate system of delegated authority.

Wills and Estate Planning Adelaide: Estate Planning In Adelaide For Same-Sex Couples

Estate Planning, Wills, Wills and Estate Planning

Estate planning is one of many legal issues facing lesbian and gay couples. Increasing numbers of LGBT parents are raising children.

Estate Planning In Adelaide For Same-Sex Couples

In the law, there are recognised categories of parenthood, including biological (genetic), gestational, surrogate, and social.
Children raised by same-sex parents may be the product of adoption, artificial insemination, surrogate birth, or biological parenthood, yet in most cases only one partner is recognised as the legal parent, with the other parent remaining a legal stranger to the child.

The phrase “nuclear family” has traditionally referred to a married heterosexual couple raising their own biological children. Nowadays, more children are living in non-traditional families than ever before. This can lead to tricky legal issues if the couple ends their relationship and the non–legally recognised parent tries to maintain contact with the child.