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Secure Your Legacy: The Importance of Mental Capacity in Will-Making
The importance of mental capacity in will-making cannot be overstated. Sadly, it’s all too common for family members to argue over the ‘state-of-mind’ of a loved one after they have passed away, leading to contested wills and bitter disputes. The mental capacity of a person can come into question due to aging or declining health, […]
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Making a digital estate plan and appointing a digital executor
Many people put off making a Will. Add the intricacies of technology and having to consider what happens to our digital life after we die, and it’s easy to understand how one might feel completely overwhelmed. However, as most of us continue to expand our online presence and accumulate a range of online accounts and […]
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Electronic Will Signing
Did you sign your Will remotely by electronic means during Covid lockdowns in Victoria? New case law suggests this needs to be reviewed URGENTLY. During COVID lockdowns in 2020 and 2021, the need for remote execution of wills became increasingly important. In Victoria, Parliament passed legislation allowing for the remote execution of wills.[1] Traditionally, wills […]
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Appointing a Solicitor as Executor of your Will
An executor is a person who will carry out the instructions in your Will once you have passed away. In general, you can appoint any person as executor of your Will, this includes solicitors. It is not uncommon for a solicitor to be appointed executor of a Will. The advantage of having a solicitor […]
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Common misconceptions about estate planning
An estate plan involves more than signing a Will and leaving it in a safe place. An effective estate plan requires consideration of several matters and ongoing review to ensure it reflects your testamentary wishes and covers unexpected events. In this article we look at some misconceptions about Wills and estate planning and dispel […]
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Accessing digital assets – estate planning essentials
The untimely death (or purported death) of Gerald Cotten, former CEO of Canadian cryptocurrency exchange company, Quadriga CX, emphasises the importance of planning your electronic after-life. Mr Cotten’s death in India at the age of 30, not only raised suspicion as to its authenticity (and allegations of an exit scam), but reiterated the chaos that […]
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What a Will Kit doesn’t do
There are various ‘Will Kits’ available on-line – most are cheap or ‘free’ and all you need to do is download them and fill in the blanks. Many websites boast that you can prepare your Will ‘without spending hundreds of dollars on legal fees’. Simple, right? Not really. Generating an on-line Will may seem easy, […]
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Do you have an SMSF? How to make sure your loved ones receive your super when you die
It’s hard to imagine the difference that one document, often only one page in length, could make to the distribution of your estate. It is a common misunderstanding that having a Will is all that is needed in estate planning. While a well-prepared Will is an essential part of any good estate plan, failing to […]
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The process of obtaining probate
Probate is a grant made by a Court that ‘proves’ the Will of a deceased person and vests title to estate assets in the executor/s. This is the official process that allows the executor to deal with the deceased’s estate. As the legal personal representative of the estate, the executor must determine the assets and […]
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Wills for Blended Families
Making a Will is important, particularly if you are part of a blended family. A blended family is a family in which one or both partners have a child or children from a previous relationship. Careful estate planning now should ensure that all of your intended beneficiaries are provided for when you die and […]
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