5 reasons you need an estate plan
A comprehensive estate plan is something every Australian adult needs and it is more than just a will. It should address who will make decisions for you when you can’t and address what happens when you die.
With more than half of Australian adults not having even a basic will in place, an aging population and capacity affecting diseases such as Dementia becoming more commonplace, it is an area that is ripe for costly legal battles.
Here are 5 more reasons why you need to have an up to date and comprehensive estate plan.
1. You have a will but not an enduring power of attorney or an enduring guardianship
If you are in the minority of Australian adults and you have your will sorted, do you know about your enduring power of attorney and enduring guardianship? These three documents form the foundation of any comprehensive estate plan. They operate whilst you are alive but have lost the ability to make decisions for yourself.
Your enduring power of attorney appoints who will make your legal and financial decisions once you have lost capacity while your enduring guardianship appoints who you want to make your medical and lifestyle decisions. They can be the same people or they can be different.
2. You have a family.
Put bluntly, your estate planning isn’t done for you. It is done for the benefit of your family. It makes their lives easier at a time that is going to be extremely difficult emotionally. This is not just when you die but if you lost your ability to make decisions for yourself. Having completed your Enduring Power of Attorney and Enduring Guardianship mean your family know who you want to make decisions if you lose the capacity to do so.
3. Make it easier for you
Now, whilst you are not doing your estate plan to benefit yourself, ensuring your spouse or parents have up to date wills will make your life easier. Why? Because obtaining a Grant of Probate (proving the will) rather than needing to get a Grant of Letters of Administration (for intestacy) is easier. There is less paperwork, less stress and less people that need to sign documents that can delay the process.
4. You have a blended family
There can be so much joy when 2 families join as one. There is also double the chances someone will be unhappy, or that one parent wants to ensure their children receive their rightful inheritance. Blending families is tricky but a comprehensive, well thought out and tactful plan can help ensure each spouse and each child from each family is taken care of in a way that suits your family.
5. You are separating from your partner or spouse
If you separate from your partner or spouse then chances are you will need to update your will or risk the laws of intestacy to prevail. That could mean that despite battling it out in the Family Law jurisdiction, if you do not obtain the Divorce Order (many do not) then your wife or husband may still inherit your estate.
If any of those reasons resonate with you or you want to know more, feel free to book a free discovery call here https://calendly.com/l-dunn-1/discovery-call