MWA Lawyers provide Wills and Estate planning services to clients, with particular focus on high net worth individuals with complex corporate and trust structures and/or self-managed super funds.

It goes without saying that dying without having a valid Will in place, can have adverse consequences. Without a Will, your Estate will fall into intestacy and may be adminsitered by the public trustee (who will charge a fee payable out of your estate for performing these functions).

Your property will also be distributed according to a statutory scheme, which may not what you intended.

Even if you do prepare a valid Will, there are other matters to consider. These include:

• What about your superannuation, do you want or have binding death nominations in place?;
• What about any family trusts or companies, who will control these after you are gone? Ordinarily, you cannot leave property held in these structures via your Will;
• What about the expectations of your business partners/associates? What arrangements are in place to unravelling your interests in these arrangements in an agreeable and acceptable way?;

• Do you want to ensure that partners of your children do not take a share in your property in the event of your children’s divorce or separation?;
• Do you need to make special arrangements for young children, or family members with special needs?;
• Are there assets that you wish to remain in the family forever (eg exclusive real estate or the family farm)?;
• What if someone wants to challenge your Will, how can you ensure this does not affect your intentions?; and
• What are the tax implications of your intentions as set out in your Will, or as a consequence of unravelling your corporate/trust/superannuation structures after you are gone?

These and many other issues need to be considered in the context of your own particular circumstances.

We strive to provide high quality, cost effective and commercially practical services to our clients, in a timely manner.

Please feel free to refer to the links below for more information, and our contact details if you wish to make any further enquiries.