Estate planning

Estate planning is about more than just wills outlining who gets what once you’re gone. It includes developing strategies to protect your assets while you are still alive and ensuring that future generations of your family will be looked after.

There is no one-size-fits-all estate plan. Your situation is unique and so your plan will be unique too, reflecting your assets, goals and personal wishes.

Most people have assets. Some are relatively simple: the family home, a car, a caravan. Others may be more complex: a business, share portfolio, investment property, valuable artworks and so on. What they all have in a common is the need for strategies that protect them and their value from risk.

Effective estate planning will give consideration to a range of issues, including:

• asset protection
• business succession
• establishment of trust funds
• insurance
• legal structures for investments
• superannuation
• taxation
• wills

It will also involve implementing strategies for dealing with unforeseen events – such as health problems – that result in you being unable to manage your own financial or personal affairs in the future.

Planning ahead is key to preserving and growing your wealth, both for your own future and for that of your loved ones. Constantly evolving taxation, superannuation and business laws can impact your wealth. For this reason, estate planning should be an ongoing process.

Stacks Law Firm can provide specialist advice across the full range of estate planning areas. Our estate planning lawyers work with you to devise a plan and recommend asset protection strategies that work for you, while ensuring that updates to that plan over time take into account relevant changes to the law and to your circumstances.

Make a plan to help you enjoy your post-working life, knowing that you and your loved ones will be taken care of exactly how you want them to be, with the help of Stacks retirement planning specialists.

As you wind down from your working years and launch into the next phase of your life, your needs understandably change.

There are many legal issues that affect retirement. Which is why retirement planning is extremely worthwhile, to ensure that you approach these golden years with a degree of comfort and confidence.

Stacks Law Firm can help you to make important legal decisions concerning your future so that you can enjoy your retirement with total peace of mind. We can also assist you to resolve any legal disputes along the way, such as those relating to superannuation or personal incidents like age discrimination.

Factors to consider as part of your retirement planning include:

• Retirement income – how will you support yourself? Is your superannuation fund set up in the best way to benefit you in your later years? When can you draw on your super? If you were an owner or director of a business, do you have an exit plan in place to ensure you leave in the best possible financial position?
• Residence – where do you intend to live? What if your needs change? Should you decide or need to enter an aged care facility or retirement village, what laws do you need to be aware of? Will you meet the eligibility criteria for the aged care facility of your choice? Can you plan ahead so that you do? Seeking contractual advice before you commit to buy into an aged care facility or retirement village will help to ensure that you are fully informed and less likely to have issues in the future.
• Health issues and support – who will handle your affairs if you are unable to do so yourself in the future? Have you considered a Power of Attorney to handle your financial affairs? Or an Enduring Guardian to make personal decisions for you in the event that you can’t?
• Wills – have you written a will outlining who is to inherit your assets? Does your partner have a will? Are those wills up to date, reflecting your current family dynamics?
• Estate planning – do you have asset protection strategies in place, using legal structures such as a family trust or testamentary trust? What will happen to your superannuation entitlements when you die? Have you considered making a binding death benefit nomination to plan for what will happen to your super?
• Insurance – do you have life insurance, or any other type of insurance, that protects you in the event of certain situations later in life? Does or should your superannuation fund own your insurance to allow for the best tax benefits?

After a life well lived, getting older is something you deserve to enjoy as much as possible. Let Stacks help you take care of all the complicated legal requirements and paperwork, so you can focus on making the most of your golden years with your loved ones.

As you get older, you may not realise that there are numerous laws in place designed to protect the rights of aging individuals, as well as their property and wealth. These laws also help to ensure your loved ones and family members are adequately provided for once you are gone.

Collectively, these matters are referred to as elder law.

Elder law encompasses legal areas relating to:

• Superannuation – Ensuring you can access the fruits of your years of hard work.
• Estate planning and making wills – To give you and your spouse/partner peace of mind that your estate and property will go to who you want it to.
• Enduring Guardianship – Appointing a decision-maker to make lifestyle decisions on your behalf if you are no longer able to do so.
• Power of Attorney – Appointing someone to make financial decisions on your behalf.
• Probate – To ensure a will is legal and valid after someone’s death.
• Retirement planning and living arrangements – Including entry into retirement villages.

These things can, understandably, be hard to talk about sometimes. Engaging one of the expert elder law lawyers at Stacks Law Firm will ensure that your transition into your older years is smooth, stress-free and as enjoyable as possible – for both you, and your family.

Elder law also encompasses laws protecting against the financial abuse of the elderly. Your friendly and understanding Stacks lawyer can help you make the best decisions about who you leave in charge of your estate once you pass, or should you one day no longer be able to attend to such matters yourself.