Estate Planning

Estate planning is often thought about but seldom acted upon. We prefer not to think about death and, as a result many put off planning for it. With no planning, your estate could pay 15% tax or higher on your assets. Proper estate planning will ensure that once you are gone, your assets are distributed according to your wishes, and not left in the Government’s hands.

We will sit down with you and go over the following checklist to ensure that all your bases are covered and to help you decide what the best way is to leave your assets.

Estate Planning Checklist:

• Do you have a will?
• Is your will up to date?
• Which of your assets should be distributed via your will and which need to be taken care of separately?
• Can anyone other than your beneficiaries lay claim to your estate?
• How should you structure your financial affairs to ensure that your family assets stay within your family?
• How can the assets that are not in your will be distributed to your beneficiaries in a tax effective manner?
• Will you have sufficient assets to meet your estate planning objectives?
• Do you have an enduring power of attorney or advanced health directive?
• Have you recently married, separated or divorced?
• Is there an impending property settlement following a relationship breakdown either for yourself or any of your nominated beneficiaries?
• Will you need to make special provision for any beneficiaries?
• Are the binding superannuation nominations you made still appropriate?
• Do you have an executor?
• If you have a trust structure in place, who will eventually gain control of the assets in the event of your death?
• What effect will your death have on your self-managed super fund, family trust or family company?
• What are the Capital Gains Tax implications for the assets you are leaving to your beneficiaries?
• What are the tax consequences of your current estate plan?