I get it. I’m not a kid any more, and I’m supposed to be grown-up and ‘responsible’. It’s time to “put my affairs in order”.
Thinking about making a Will just isn’t fun. No-one wants to confront their own mortality. And talking to a lawyer is boring – and expensive – right?
Plus I’d have to take time-off work to drive across town to the lawyer’s office. Finding a carpark is always a pain.
Include Pets in Your Estate Plan
Most of us consider our pets part of the family. But sometimes we don’t think about including them in plans for what happens when we die or can no longer look after ourselves.
In our law practice, we talk a lot about estate planning for families.
It’s the most common application for our services—parents want to be able to protect the money they’ve saved and the assets they’ve accrued for their children, and provide an easy way for their assets to be passed down to their children when they die.
However a person who is single with no children—or, for that matter, a childless person whose spouse has passed away—may need estate planning services even more.
When I was a kid, I saw how people naturally gravitated to my mum and dad when they needed help.
Extended family and close friends turned to them when they were in trouble, and I used to wonder what it was that made my folks the ‘go-to’ people in that situation.
My mum was great at comforting people. She just had this way about her that put people at their ease. She welcomed them and – somehow – embraced them emotionally.
I’ve taken a hammering this week from people misplacing their anger about Wills and estates, and I’m sick of it. RANT ON:
I’ve just hung up the phone from an otherwise sweet lady, whose 100 year-old aunt had recently died without a Will.
I had to explain to her about the process of applying for Letters of Administration (differing from Probate), and which relatives have priority to do so, and how much the fees and expenses would be.
Finding a good lawyer is no easy task. Even if you know a good lawyer, they might not specialise in the area of law you require.
Whatever type of legal issue you find yourself confronting, finding the right lawyer is crucial for the outcome of the matter.
The first step in finding a lawyer is determining what type of issue you have. The category of lawyer that you are seeking, specialises in ‘Wills & Estates’.
South Australia wants more people to talk about it.
Medical breakthroughs and public health improvements have greatly increased life expectancy.
Other medical and technical developments have enabled many people to remain active for longer, giving them a better quality of life, as well as a longer life.
The flipside of this is the ballooning cast of care, accomodation and medications for the over 70’s.
Major bank’s belated discovery of stored Wills could trigger estate disputes
It has emerged that one of the largest and oldest banks in the world – Lloyds Bank – has discovered a cache of thousands of stored Wills in its ‘Safe Custody’ service.
The service was closed to new customers in 2011, but in 2019 the bank discovered that the approximately 190,000 papers still stored there included about 9,000 Wills. Some of the envelopes could not be matched to Lloyds’ customers.
Forget about religion or politics. If you want to start an argument on Facebook, try talking about the possibility of someone’s Will potentially being contested.
Boy, does that get people riled-up!
I’m always trying to educate people about Wills and estates, and the topic that most divides opinion relates to what is called ‘testamentary freedom’.
An interview between Rod Genders (senior Australian lawyer specialising in Wills and estates) and Cheryl Cocks (mortgage broker with Aussie)