Business succession planning for Australian business owners — integrating your Will with your business structure

Choosing the Right Business Structure for a Smooth Succession

Business Succession, Wills, Wills and Estate Planning
Business owner reviewing documents at an office desk

Business owners typically choose their operating structure – sole trader, partnership, company, or family trust – based on tax efficiency, liability protection, or simply what their accountant recommended at the time the business began. Succession is rarely the first consideration, and yet the structure a business operates under has an enormous influence on what happens to it when an owner dies, becomes incapacitated, retires, or wishes to bring in the next generation. Revisiting whether the original structure still serves the business’s succession needs is one of the most valuable, and most neglected, exercises a business owner can undertake.

Genders and Partners

Accommodation After Death: Providing a Home for Loved Ones Through Your Will

Death Benefits, Estate Planning, Trusts, Wills
Genders and Partners

For many South Australians, the family home is the most valuable asset in their estate. It is also deeply personal – associated with decades of memory and, in many cases, currently occupied by a surviving spouse, a dependent child, an elderly parent, or another family member who has nowhere else to go. The prospect of that person being displaced shortly after the Will-maker’s death, because the home must be sold or transferred to satisfy the terms of the Will, is a genuine source of anxiety for many people making estate planning decisions.

The 7 Deadly Sins of DIY Wills

The 7 Deadly Sins of DIY Wills

DIY Wills, Wills, Wills and Estate Planning
The 7 Deadly Sins of DIY Wills

Trying to DIY the most important legal document in your life is a bad idea. This is a specialised area of law, and when you don’t know what you’re doing, it is very easy to make critical errors trying to do this yourself. Any mistakes you make won’t become apparent until you die, and it’s too late for you to fix them, so it will be your family who has the stress and cost of dealing with it all.

Here are 7 of the most common errors people make with DIY Wills:

  1. No Advice. While DIY Will-kits and online services might provide you with a document that looks like a Will, appearances can be deceptive.       What you are paying a lawyer for is the advice they provide you along with the Will. It is illegal for anyone other than a licensed lawyer to provide legal advice for a fee, whether that means answering questions or making planning suggestions for how to accomplish goals. So the companies that offer DIY Wills or kits or online documents are always careful to tell you that they are not giving you legal advice, and they ALWAYS recommend that you consult a lawyer if you have questions.

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Expectation Management in Estate Planning

Estate Planning, Trusts, Wills, Wills and Estate Planning

Of the many aspects of estate planning that require careful attention,

Expectation Management

one of the least discussed – and arguably the most emotionally charged – is the management of beneficiaries’ expectations. People often assume, sometimes with great confidence, that they know what a relative intends to leave them. When the Will reveals something different, the consequences can range from family tension to costly litigation.
Effective expectation management is not merely a matter of interpersonal diplomacy. It is an integral part of sound estate planning that can spare families years of grief and legal expense.

5 Common Estate Planning Mistakes

Estate Planning Disasters of the Rich and Famous

Estate Planning, Inheritance Claims & Contested Estates, Wills, Wills and Estate Planning
Estate Planning Disasters of the Rich and Famous

There is a tempting assumption that estate planning is something only the wealthy need to worry about, or conversely, that wealth itself ensures a smooth transfer of assets on death. Celebrity estate planning disasters emphatically disprove both propositions. The rich and famous are as capable of catastrophic estate planning failures as anyone else – and because their assets and family disputes tend to be played out in public, their mistakes offer instructive lessons for us all.
The following cases illustrate common estate planning failures and the principles that might have prevented them. All information in this article relates to Australian law under the Succession Act 2023 (SA) and its Commonwealth and common law equivalents.

who and how to appoint an executor in your will in south australia

Who and how to appoint an Executor in your Will in South Australia

Wills
who and how to appoint an executor in your will in south australia

Choosing who will take on the role of Executor of your Will can sometimes be challenging.

Most Will-makers (aka ‘Testators’) appoint a trusted friend or family member as their executor. This person will end up playing a very important role, with a lot of responsibility.

If they instruct an experienced lawyer who specialises in Wills and Estates, then most of the ‘heavy-lifting’ will be done for them by the lawyer.

Testamentary trusts in South Australia — protecting beneficiaries, minimising tax, and building flexibility into your Will

Testamentary Trusts: Building a Will That Protects Your Beneficiaries

Testamentary Trusts, Wills, Wills and Estate Planning
Testamentary trusts in South Australia — protecting beneficiaries, minimising tax, and building flexibility into your Will

When most people think about making a Will, they imagine a straightforward document that says who gets what when they die. For many Australians, that basic Will is all that is needed. But for others — particularly those with significant assets, complex family structures, or vulnerable beneficiaries — a Will that simply transfers wealth outright may not be the wisest choice.

Superannuation death benefit nomination and estate planning in Australia

The Ticking Time Bomb in Your Estate Plan: Why Your Superannuation Death Benefit Nomination Matters More Than You Think

Superannuation, Wills, Wills and Estate Planning
Superannuation death benefit nomination and estate planning in Australia

For many Australians, superannuation is the largest single asset they will accumulate over a working lifetime. Yet despite its size, superannuation is also one of the most misunderstood assets from an estate planning perspective. The critical point — one that surprises many clients — is that your superannuation does not automatically pass according to your Will.

Protecting elderly Australians from predatory marriage and financial abuse through proactive estate planning

Predatory Marriage and Elder Abuse: Protecting Your Estate from Those Who Would Exploit Vulnerability

Elder Law, Wills, Wills and Estate Planning
Protecting elderly Australians from predatory marriage and financial abuse through proactive estate planning

Among the more distressing phenomena encountered in succession law practice is the marriage of convenience — sometimes called a predatory marriage — in which a person cultivates a relationship with an older or cognitively vulnerable individual for the purpose of securing an inheritance. The legal consequences for the victim’s family can be severe, and South Australian law has only recently moved to address them.

Digital asset estate planning in Australia — managing cryptocurrency, social media, and online accounts after death

What Happens to Your Digital Life When You Die? A Practical Guide to Digital Asset Estate Planning

Digital Assets, Wills, Wills and Estate Planning
Digital asset estate planning in Australia — managing cryptocurrency, social media, and online accounts after death

When most people think about estate planning, they think about property, bank accounts, superannuation, and personal possessions. Few think about their email inbox, their cryptocurrency wallet, their Netflix subscription, or the thirty thousand photographs stored on a cloud service. Yet for many Australians in 2026, the digital estate is substantial — and it is almost entirely unplanned for.