Estate Planning

Our estate planning lawyers are here to help you take care of tomorrow today, by making sure your assets are passed on to your chosen beneficiaries in the most effective way possible.

An estate plan provides certainty and peace of mind about what will happen to your assets in the event of your death. A comprehensive estate plan can help your family avoid financial strain and stress, at a time of bereavement and loss.

At Lane Buck & Higgins, we have the experience to guide you through your estate options and help with your succession planning – from setting up trusts, appointing Powers of Attorney and Enduring guardianships to preparing and updating your Will.

Estate planning – what is it?

A Will is only part of the estate planning process. Before you have your Will prepared, it is important to take into consideration estate planning. Your Will outlines what you want to happen to the assets you personally own, but it doesn’t control your superannuation, life insurance, assets in family trust or assets you jointly own such as real estate or a business. An estate plan can ensure all of this is accounted for.

An estate plan will also look at your circumstances while you’re alive, to protect your assets from creditors and avoid unexpected tax liabilities.

Even if you don’t have assets, estate planning is a way for you to protect your family. Careful estate planning ensures your loved ones will be taken care of long after you are gone.

What does estate planning involve?

Depending on your personal situation, planning your estate might include:

• Setting up a family trust to keep your family’s assets in order, protect them and minimise tax
• Setting up a testamentary trust, where trustees manage the distribution of some or all of your estate to your beneficiaries after you die
• Preparing or updating your will
• Appointing Powers of Attorney and Enduring guardianships
• Preparing advance health directives
• Changing asset ownership
• Incorporating your financial and retirement plans
• Varying trusts to transfer control

How our estate lawyers can help

An estate planning lawyer can ensure your end of life wishes will be carried out, and your estate is passed on exactly as you planned. We will work with you and your accountant or financial advisor to prepare a comprehensive estate plan that reflects your needs.

Our goal is to help you protect and preserve your estate in the best interests of your family. We are also here to guide you through probate – a legal process that occurs when someone close to you dies.

Our estate planning team are located in Perth, the South West (Margaret River and Busselton) and the Wheatbelt region (Narrogin).

The benefits of estate planning

Having a robust estate plan will:

• Ensure your assets are distributed exactly as you planned
• Legally document the executors and trustees who will administer your estate
• Ease the burden of your family and ensure they are properly provided for
• Reduce estate and inheritance taxes that will have to be paid by the people you leave behind
• Avoid messy estate disputes among possible beneficiaries
• Help you plan for potential incapacity in the future

Ready to protect your family’s future? Contact the estate planning team at Lane Buck & Higgins for legal advice on preparing your estate plan.