In reality you are much better to plan for your own departure and choose what happens with the estate that you leave behind. When considering estate planning solicitors Brisbane residents and their immediate families and friends will be far better off choosing and legally documenting what becomes of their wealth and possessions when they die, rather than having the government help itself to a share, and to leave an administrative mess in their wake (no pun intended), which could lead to disputes between the rightful benefactors and less deserving claimants.
A qualified estate lawyer will be able to effectively asses your financial worth in terms of the main components of your estate, such as your savings, property, assets and valuable possessions, and help you to plan and structure the best way of allocating this to the people that you choose to inherit it. Of course, everyone is different, and assets of value will vary in complexity from person to person, so experienced estate planning solicitors will be able to make a potentially complicated scenario be much more straightforward.
For those unfamiliar with the process, if you don’t leave a will, your wife or husband, and in Australia your common-law partner are legally entitled to your estate should you die. That said, families are often complicated by divorce, siblings out of wedlock, former partners and siblings from previous marriages, so it will pay to seek professional advice from a seasoned estate lawyer professional in order to figure out the right plan of action to ensure that the assets that you choose to allocate to a specific individual, actually become theirs.
Most legal problems surface when, following someone’s death, it is discovered that no will was ever made. That said, it is also possible to appoint wills and estates lawyers Sydney to act as administrators for the deceased estate. The advantage of this is that despite a will not having been made, the appointment of someone who is familiar with Australian law will in the very least be able to act accordingly, make informed decisions, and advise those involved on the most appropriate course of action to help administer the estate.
One thing we all know by the time we leave is that life can get very complicated. Before you reach a point where it’s too late, either because you are dead, or are physically or mentally unable to decide upon the best options for your assets and finances, make a point of choosing to meet with an estate planning solicitor to set up your will, allocate the power of attorney to someone you trust, and ensure that the people or causes that you love and care for the most are the ultimate benefactors of your decisions.