Estate Planning Archives

Wills and Estate Planning Adelaide: Comfort = Complacency?

Estate Planning, Wills and Estate PlanningBy Rod Genders August 2, 2013

As Baby Boomers start to keel-over, we are about to witness the greatest “transfer of wealth” ever in Australia’s history. This segment of society is a BIG chunk of our national population, and it represents a massive percentage of our private net-worth as a nation.

While this is happening, the Gen-X and Gen-Y youngsters are growing-up fast, and realising for the first time that bull-markets don’t last forever. They now have new burdens of responsibilities to their own kids coming through behind them. They are suddenly recognising that life doesn’t owe them, and they’ll have to work for what they want. It will be interesting to see how they cope. They’ve been raised in very good times, when the equity in our homes unlocked a never-ending orgy of consumerism. Who needed to save, when debt was so much easier, and capital gains would take care of that. Why delay gratification, when the latest big-screen home-theatre can be installed today, with payments over the next 10 years?

But now we are formally acknowledged to be in a debt-fuelled recession. Our economy has been very kind to us for a long time, and people have become used to a certain level of comfort and security – but that is no longer guaranteed.

So how will you look after yourself and your family in these challenging times? Have you created a fully-integrated estate plan, and reviewed it regularly? Have you taken the steps necessary to preserve your wealth for your old-age, and to pass your assets onto the people you care about, or are you simply hoping to live forever?

Death & taxes, illness & share-market corrections may be unavoidable … but they don’t have to ruin your family or your business. Make the effort to protect the people you really care about. Call Genders & Partners for integrated estate planning in Adelaide and all over South Australia. And do it NOW … before it is too late.

Wills and Estate Planning Adelaide: How Much to Live? Planning to Retire

Estate Planning, Pensions and Retirement Planning, Planning for Disability and Incapacity, WillsBy Rod Genders August 2, 2013

I had a dream the other night – it was the scene from Life of Brian where the convicts are lined up before an officious jailer, who is ticking-off their fate on a clipboard: “Crucifixion? Line on the left – one cross each!”

But in my dream-version, I was confronted with a bean-counting accountant in front of a supermarket check-out till, behind which the line branched away into two corridors marked “Live” or “Die”.

I saw myself reaching for my wallet, asking “How much to live?”

In a weird kind of way, this is a very relevant, and thoroughly modern, estate planning question.

Back in the day, men retired at age 65 and women retired at 60. They received the old-age pension, and generally died in their 70’s.

Now, nobody can afford to retire at any age, because the pension barely covers the cost of the petrol needed to drive to the Department to collect the cheque in the first place, and yet we’re all living to 100! The Queen must be going broke with all the telegrams she has to send nowadays to people reaching their hundredth birthday.

Wills and Estate Planning Adelaide: Elder Care & Retirement Planning

Estate Planning, Pensions and Retirement Planning, Planning for Disability and Incapacity, WillsBy Rod Genders August 2, 2013

Australians are living longer than ever before. About 5000 people are turning 65 every day, yet health care & retirement planning are things many people neglect. As a result many people find themselves struggling just to get-by in their golden years.

A proper financial plan, as part of an integrated estate plan, will consider the Medicare & Centrelink entitlements of each individual within the context of their family and personal situation. The plan will include long-term care & medical treatment, accommodation & various insurances.

As we accumulate wealth we hope that one day, we can pass it on to our children and loved ones. But without proper estate planning, a protracted illness or accident can rapidly use-up that wealth leaving us with little or nothing to pass-on. Loved ones may inherit far less than they or you expected. Without adequate asset protection mechanisms and insurances, existence can be much colder & meaner than it needs to be.

Learning how to use estate planning is an essential life-skill for retirees. It helps to insure that the wealth you worked so hard to build goes where you want it to. You can protect your children’s inheritance, your hard-earned retirement benefits and assets, and much more.

Estate planning can help you with your golden years. Through it you can start learning the ins and outs of elder care, long term insurance, Medicare and more today. Don’t let your lack of planning be your downfall.

Wills and Estate Planning Adelaide: 9 Meals from Anarchy

Estate Planning, Wills and Estate PlanningBy Rod Genders July 11, 2013

… estate planning and the need to be prepared…

Authors, politicians, revolutionaries, psychologists and philosophers have long proclaimed that civilisation is only 3 days – or 9 meals – away from anarchy, barbarism and revolution.

Think about it – no food on supermarket shelves – how long before law and order started to break down, and suburban streets descend into chaos and mob-rule?

It’s been a long time since any of us in Australia were genuinely hungry. I mean starving from lack of available food, not the latest Hollywood diet.

But imagine a sudden loss of electrical power, like Auckland experienced in 1998. That’s only 15 years ago, in a modern first world country. There it took five weeks to restore that power supply, and about 60,000 people had to relocate to other New Zealand cities, or even to Australia.

So imagine your whole state without power for weeks. No electric light or refrigeration. No internet, television, radio or phones. No banking or EFTPOS. The electric pumps at the service stations shutdown oil and petrol supplies, so no trucks delivering food.

No electrical pumps means eventually no running water.

Wills and Estate Planning Adelaide: Estate Planning after your First Marriage

Blended Families and Divorce, Estate Planning, Planning for Disability and IncapacityBy Rod Genders July 11, 2013

Estate planning for your second or subsequent marriage is more of a challenge than it was the first time around.

If you have children from your first marriage, then those kids may have an entirely justified concern that their new step-parent could throw a big roadblock in the path of their inheritance.

When you got married again, it automatically revoked your previous Wills. If you don’t make a new Will after the latest marriage, the law of the State where you live will create a default Will for you, according to a statutory formula which probably won’t suit your intentions.

Asset Protection – Be Smart, Be Safe

Asset Protection, Business Succession Planning, Trusts, Wills and Estate PlanningBy Rod Genders July 11, 2013

Protecting your assets is one of the most important financial decisions you will ever make. Asset protection is a valuable and important part of a modern integrated estate plan. No matter how many assets you have, you should make an effort to protect them, but try to avoid these common mistakes:

1. Lack of Knowledge

Lots of people misunderstand how asset protection works. Some people believe asset protection makes them “judgment proof.” Even if your assets are protected, you may still cop an adverse court judgment. In some cases, efforts you have made to protect your assets can be overturned. This is why it is important to work with a professional when creating your protection plan.

Don’t make the mistake of assuming asset protection and estate planning are the same thing. Asset protection is part of any strong estate plan but they are not the same thing. Some trusts do nothing to protect you from creditors, and Family Court issues can interfere with the best-laid plans.

Don’t make the mistake of confusing bankruptcy law and asset protection law. In a state like South Australia, newer bankruptcy laws do not prevent the “clawing back” of assets you may have tried to unsuccessfully protect. You have less protection in bankruptcy court, so filing for bankruptcy should be used as a last resort.

Wills and Estate Planning Adelaide: The Dangers of DIY Wills and Estate Planning

Do It Yourself Wills, Estate Planning, Wills, Wills and Estate PlanningBy Rod Genders July 11, 2013

Some people resist or resent spending money on estate planning, because they think (wrongly) they won’t gain the benefits themselves.

In difficult financial times like these, some folks may be tempted to postpone or minimise what might seem like a non-essential expenditure.

Every week, thousands of television advertisements from insurance companies encourage people to bypass lawyers and create their own Wills, using cheap or free “Will kits”.

The big ugly truth about these kits is that people make a lot of mistakes when they try to create their own Wills and estate planning documents. They have been lulled into a false sense of security. But answering just one question incorrectly or overlooking something such as appointing a guardian for children can lead to major problems down the road.

There are lots of traps for the unwary, and this whole area of law regarding deceased estates contains a hidden minefield which you absolutely want to avoid. And with a bit of education & planning, they can. Otherwise they won’t know the questions to ask, or what to do with the answers.

Wills and Estate Planning Adelaide: Bequests to Caregivers

Death Benefits, Estate Planning, Pensions and Retirement Planning, Planning for Disability and IncapacityBy Rod Genders July 11, 2013

As we age, advances in medical science continue to improve our life-expectancy, so we are living longer and longer on average.

But as we age, we are more likely to require care towards the end of our lives. Some of this care is provided by voluntary caregivers and friends & family, in addition to paid carers. Sometimes we want to provide for those caregivers or friends in our Will. Such bequests however can be suspected, resented and possibly challenged by family members and other beneficiaries after we die.

Imagine an elderly man changes his Will three months before he dies to leave all of his assets to an individual who had recently befriended him and “taken care of him” in recent times. To many people the word “gold-digger” might spring to mind.

As people age, their mental abilities age as well. Their judgment, wisdom and discernment in making decisions may no longer be as acute, and they may be more willing to trust strangers.

Sadly, some people take advantage of such elderly people, causing them to sign over assets and benefits or even whole estates to people they hardly know.

Wills and Estate Planning Adelaide: Estate Planning for Blended Families – More Important Than Ever

Blended Families and Divorce, Estate Planning, Wills and Estate PlanningBy Rod Genders July 11, 2013

If you are in a second or subsequent marriage that involves different sets of children, then you have a blended family.

If you are planning to start a new life, and maybe buy a home with your present spouse, then this time around you really need to develop an integrate plan to ensure that all the important people in your life receive their fair share of your assets after you die. That’s what modern integrated estate planning does.

In most Australian jurisdictions, divorce will invalidate all gifts to an ex-spouse under a Will. However re-marriage will automatically revoke the entire earlier Will (with only rare exceptions).

Wills and Estate Planning Adelaide: Complications in Estate Planning Following Remarriage

Estate Planning, Wills, Wills and Estate PlanningBy Rod Genders July 9, 2013

Estate planning following remarriage after being widowed or divorced is complicated by a number of factors, including differences in asset-ownership between the parties, one or both of them having children by an earlier relationship requiring provision/protection, disparity in ages, and concerns about the financial effects of a relationship breakdown (once bitten, twice shy).

Joint ownership of assets, and Family Law considerations of “Community Property” can give a surviving spouse certain property rights which can cause problems for the children from prior marriages.

Tag Archives: Estate Planning

1. Lack of Knowledge