Inheritance Battles are on the Rise Is Your Estate Plan Strong Enough?
Court battles over estates are increasing in South Australia. Is your plan strong enough to withstand a challenge?
In recent years, Australia has seen a steady rise in Will disputes and inheritance challenges. Families are finding themselves entangled in costly and emotionally draining court battles, often at the very
Self-Managed Super Funds – meeting your obligations
Introduction to Super
Most Australians have some superannuation.
There are 5 main types of super funds in Australia: retail, industry, public sector, corporate and self-managed.
Most Australians will have their super with a Retail Fund like MLC or Colonial First State) or an Industry fund (like CBUS or HostPlus).
Who can inherit my Super?
Our superannuation death benefits and our family home (if we are lucky enough to own one) are the two largest assets for most ordinary Australians.
Yet most Aussies (including most accountants and lawyers) are utterly gobsmacked to discover that their super does NOT automatically form part of their deceased estate when they die, AND that they CANNOT just treat their super like their Will, and give it to whomever they wish, as if their super is just like a bank account.
Estate Planning for Company Directors
When people make their Will, they typically concentrate on their personal assets, and they sometimes forget about their business assets & responsibilities.
If you are a director of an Australian company, then you need to know that you have responsibilities relating to that company, which can include:
Personal liability of directors for unpaid company taxes;
Personal liability of directors for unpaid company superannuation;
Estate Planning must include Digital Assets
How many things in your life do you manage or store on your computer, tablet, smartphone or online? Like many people today you probably access photos, videos, music, e-books, blogs, movies, emails, conversations, social media, games, bank accounts, medical records, and even your identity – all online.
All of these are called “digital assets” and they may be of financial or sentimental value to you and your family. They can be just as precious and important as physical assets that you can touch. They should be part of your general planning for what happens when you die or if at any time you are unable to manage your own affairs.
Wills and Estate Planning Adelaide: Did You Know You’re A YOYO?
YOYO stands for You’re On Your Own, and it has never been truer for Australian retirees.
In the 1980’s when Bob Hawke and Paul Keating changed government policy to encourage us all to save enough money for our eventual retirement, we did so with an expectation of mastering our own destiny to enjoy a wonderful and carefree retirement.
The idea was to reduce the dependence upon government funds for the old-age pension.
There has been a tremendous change in the social culture of Australia in the 40 years or so since superannuation commenced.
Top 10 Uncomfortable Estate Planning Issues You Don’t Want to Consider
To help implement your wishes, trusts and estate lawyers need to ask some tough questions.
Some of them might make you squirm.
Thinking about the following issues in advance can help you prepare for a meeting about your estate plan.
#1. What if you all die in a common disaster?
Marriage or De Facto – Some Legal Issues to Consider
You may have thought the hardest decisions associated with formalising your relationship related to organising the party and keeping uncle Fred away from cousin Merle, but here are a few other considerations…
Change of Name
Traditionally, when a woman married, she took the last name of her husband. However this is not as common as it once was, and there is no legal compulsion to do so.
Know somebody who is losing control of their own affairs?
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.
7 Financial Things Retirees Need To Know About Estate Planning
COVID has been scary and frustrating for most of us, and the future remains uncertain.
But if you were looking for a silver lining in all this, I can maybe offer two observations:
1. People have had to learn how to connect digitally a lot more efficiently, so we are all a lot more familiar with zoom meetings now.
This will hopefully mean that we stay connected a bit better from now on, no matter how busy the world gets again.