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.

Genders and Partners

Wills and Estate Planning Adelaide: Maintenance for Your Estate Plan

Estate Planning, Wills
Genders and Partners

The documents in your estate plan are excellent tools, and like the tools in your shed, they need to be kept sharp to maximise their effectiveness.

Preventative Maintenance is essential. It’s the same for most important things in life.

Take your car for example. If you are doing what you should, you change your car’s oil every year or 10,000 kms.

You invest in maintenance and preventative care throughout the life of your vehicle, to keep it reliable and running well.

Wills and Estate Planning Adelaide: The Best New Year Resolution, Update Your Will and Estate Plan

Estate Planning, Wills
Genders and Partners

The big New Year’s Eve party is just a fuzzy memory, Christmas is over for another year. 

The presents have gone from beneath the tree, the over-full rubbish bin has been emptied and the last of the ham and turkey has finally disappeared from the fridge.

Now is the time when we start to reflect upon those New Year Resolutions we traditionally make early each year.

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.

Genders and Partners

Wills and Estate Planning Adelaide: More Adelaide Pet Owners Include Animals in Their Wills

Estate Planning, Pets, Trusts, Trusts & Guardianship, Wills
Genders and Partners

Senior lawyer specialising in estate planning and Wills in Adelaide.

Rod Genders from Genders and Partners, the oldest law firm in South Australia, says that state law does not permit animals to be direct beneficiaries of a Will, as the law regards the animals themselves as property.

However, caring pet owners can leave money for their pets in pet trusts with provisions for how it is to be spent on the pet.

As our population ages and fewer couples have children, there has been an attitude shift where many people have come to view their animals less as pets and more as members of the family.

Genders and Partners

Wills and Estate Planning Adelaide: The Right Advice Can Make All the Difference

Estate Planning, Inheritance Claims & Contested Estates, Wills
Wills-and-Estate-Planning-Adelaide-The-Right -Advice-Can-Make-All-the-Difference

Many people mistakenly believe that having a simple legal Will covers all their needs, yet it’s only one piece of the legal protection puzzle. Without proper estate planning, you’re leaving your wealth and assets quite vulnerable and unprotected.

In some circumstances, it can mean the difference between having your wealth distributed the way you want, or having it given to those you don’t want anything to do with anymore. Or it may even be the difference between losing your home and keeping it, when unexpected events arise, like an accident that leaves you alive but incapacitated.

Even if you have a legal Will, that’s only one piece of the puzzle to protect you, your family and your assets. Without an integrated and up-to-date estate plan, you are gambling with your future.

Genders and Partners

Wills and Estate Planning Adelaide: Kids Growing Up

Estate Planning, Planning for Disability and Incapacity, Wills, Young Children

As a parent, what is our worst fear?

Kids Growing Up

For most of us, it would be receiving that phone call telling us that our child is having a medical emergency. It might be a car accident, or some other health crisis, but as soon as we are notified we want to rush into action to help them.  No matter how old they are, they will always be our child, even if they are now an adult.

It used to be that when a child turned 21, he would receive a key to the front-door of the family home, in a rite-of-passage symbolising and acknowledging their transition from child to adult.

With the faster pace of life, and changing societal expectations, the legal age-of-majority is now18.

Did you know that if your children are aged 18 or older, even if they are still living at home with you, then you are no longer able to make their medical decisions for them? In fact, you have no right to speak with their doctor or nurses or see their medical records.