Wills
A Will is a legal document that sets out how you want your assets to be distributed after death. It is essential that you receive proper legal advice when preparing your Will to ensure that it is legally effective, that each of your assets is dealt with the way you wish for them to be (including jointly owned assets and superannuation) and that consideration is given to the many hidden challenges that exist in Estate planning (including with regard taxation, superannuation and the potential for claims against your Estate under family provision legislation).
Appointment of Enduring Guardian
An Appointment of Enduring Guardian is a legal document that appoints a person (your ‘Enduring Guardian’) to act on your behalf in relation to personal, lifestyle and healthcare matters where you do not have the mental capacity to make those decisions for yourself (for example due to illness or injury). An Enduring Guardian may for example consent to you receiving medical treatment, make decisions about where you live and assist you to receive essential personal services.
ENDURING power of attorney
An Enduring Power of Attorney is a legal document that appoints a person (your ‘Attorney’) to act on your behalf in relation to legal and financial matters. Unlike a General Power of Attorney, an Enduring Power of Attorney will remain effective if you lose mental capacity (for example due to illness or injury) so that your Attorney will continue to be able to make decisions for the benefit of you and your family.
estate administration
After you die your assets will be distributed and handled in accordance with the terms of your Will or, if you do not have a valid Will in place, in accordance with the laws of intestacy as set out in legislation.
Leaving aside the emotional toll of the death of a loved one, Estate Administration can be daunting and complex. In many cases a grant of Probate or Letters of Administration must be obtained from the Supreme Court of New South Wales before your assets can be distributed.
It is essential that you receive legal advice regarding the administration of a deceased person's Estate.
estate litigation
Estate litigation arises where a challenge is made by a person against the Estate of a deceased person, for example to claim:
that provision (or further provision to that already made in the Deceased's Will) should be made from the deceased's estate for the person's proper maintenance, education or advancement in life under family provision legislation;
the Deceased was lacking testamentary capacity at the time the Will was made;
the Deceased was unduly influenced by another person at the time the Will was made; or
that the Will was ambiguous or poorly drafted, such that the Court is required to make a determination as to the proper intentions of the Deceased.
It is very important to seek legal advice in relation to such claims.