Wills & Estate Planning
Arrange your affairs now so that you have peace of mind and ensure that your family and loved ones are taken care of
Intestacy can result in your loved ones being placed in difficult financial circumstances and cause unintended consequences such as estranged family or distant relatives inheriting your estate. You can avoid this by arranging your affairs now.
- Wills & Testamentary Trusts
- Powers of Attorney
- Probate
Standard Wills
Standard wills, i.e. wills without trusts are very common and are suitable for most people. This includes wills for individuals or wills for couples who want to leave their assets to their spouse and subsequently to their children.
We can draft your will or review an existing will to ensure that your wishes are expressed clearly and suits your situation and circumstances.
Wills with Testamentary Trusts
If your affairs are complex, for example, if you need to cater for a blended family or a disabled child, you may need to use testamentary trusts.
As part of your estate planning, we can provide you with advice on whether a testamentary trust is suitable.
Powers of Attorney
Powers of Attorney are a legal document that lets you appoint someone to make a decision on your behalf. This can be for financial and personal matters and can be limited to specific matters if you choose.
Appointment of Medical Treatment Decision Maker
The Appointment of Medical Treatment Decision Maker is basically a medical power of attorney. You use this to appoint someone to make medical decisions on your behalf.
Advanced Care Directive
This document records your wishes regarding medical treatment and your values. Your health practitioners and your medical treatment decision maker are obliged to consider what you have recorded in your Advanced Care Directive.
Applying for probate or letters of administration
If you have been appointed an executor in a person's Will, you are responsible for administering the estate and following the instructions in the Will.
We can help you with applying for probate and executing the transfers of real estate to beneficiaries.
We can help you with applying for Letters of Administration if your loved one or close relative has died without a Will. This is a document that grants an administrator the authority to deal with the estate. Generally, only a person who is entitled to receive a part of the deceased's estate is entitled to apply for a grant of Letters of Administration.
Helped me navigate the implications with care and understanding
“I wanted to help my son to purchase his first house and so wanted to release money from my investments and give it to him for the house. But how to do this? What are the implications? What if he marries in the future and they break up and half the money will go to his ex-partner? How to protect the money so that it stays with him?
And how does giving him this money mean that my daughter also will not be disadvantaged when I die because more money would have gone to him? How do I make things fair? How do I talk about this with my son so that we both have the same understanding of what it is we are hoping to achieve?
This is why I chose to work with Mi on a loan agreement. She not only explained how to navigate all these implications but talked with us and ensured that we thought through all the options and understood what it was we were doing. I wanted to work with Mi because I wanted someone who I could trust to do the right thing and care. That’s MI – a lawyer with knowledge, communication skills and integrity.”
