Wills and Estate Planning Archives

Weird Probate Issues Part 3

Probate and Deceased Estates, Weird Probate Issues, Wills and Estate PlanningBy Rod Genders January 4, 2018

Famous Last Words – Some people try to tell you that “you can’t take it with you,” but that doesn’t mean you have to go quietly into the night. A vital part of pre-death planning is composing a Last Will and Testament that clearly lays out who gets your stuff and your money. But some people also use them as a final “screw you” to the world. These people were determined to have their final say, with their strange Last Wills and Testaments.

… because our last posts Weird Probate Issues and More Weird Probate issues were so popular, we have decided to create an entire series …

Don’t Neglect the Softer Side of Estate Planning

Trusts & Guardianship, Wills and Estate PlanningBy Rod Genders November 23, 2017

A long time ago (1983 actually), Sean Connery came out of 007 retirement to make an unofficial James Bond movie called Never Say Never Again. In one scene he pretends to be a masseur at a health spa, and suggestively says to Kim Basinger: “Hard or soft … massage?”

This movie-line must have stuck in my brain all these years, because it suddenly seemed like a good way to highlight some important considerations in modern integrated estate planning – Hard or soft … estate plan?

What is the Softer Side of Your Estate Plan?

Identify, document and share your wishes for end-of-life care, the care of your pets, the custodianship of your special assets, who your carers will be, where will you live if you lose your independence, and more.

WARNING: Dementia will soon become Australia’s Leading Cause of Death

Trusts & Guardianship, Wills and Estate PlanningBy Rod Genders November 7, 2017

Dementia deaths in Australia have steadily increased over recent years. In 2013, dementia became Australia’s second leading cause of death, overtaking cerebrovascular diseases (strokes) for the first time.

In 2014 and 2015 the number of dementia deaths have continued to rise.

Ischaemic heart disease has been the leading cause of death in Australia since early in the 20th century, but while the rate of death from heart disease was at its worst around 1970, it has steadily declined since then.

Dementia is not one specific disease. There are many types, including Alzheimer’s and Vascular Dementia, which are each collections of symptoms caused by disorders affecting the brain, with severe effects on thinking, behaviour and quality of life. These diseases add greatly to the burden of illness and injury in the Australian community.

Rod Genders Podcast Episode #1: What Is Testamentary Capacity?

Podcast, Wills and Estate PlanningBy Rod Genders November 3, 2017

Medical science is keeping us alive for longer than ever before, and the Australian population is ageing fast. Dementia already affects approximately 160 000 Australians.

Dementia affects about 10% of those aged over 65 years, and 20% of those over 80 years suffer from severe dementia. Frighteningly, Alzheimer’s Australia says we can expect a 300% increase in the numbers of dementia patients in the next 30 years.

Senior Australian lawyer Rod Genders discusses how mental health affects a person’s legal capacity to make decisions in their own best interests.

More Weird Probate Issues

Probate and Deceased Estates, Wills and Estate PlanningBy Rod Genders November 2, 2017

Making a Will is a serious business, right? It details how you wish your estate to be distributed, who benefits and by how much.

… because our last post Weird Probate Issues was so popular, here we go again …

But we can still chuckle at the efforts of other people when they outrageously stuff-up their own estate plans. (We’ll suppress our schadenfreude with the thought that this is all educational. ‘Schadenfreude’ is the German term for the guilty pleasure derived from another person’s misfortune.)

7 Reasons why Australian women outlive their Estate Plan – and what to do about it

Death Benefits, Wills and Estate Planning, WomenBy Rod Genders October 23, 2017

Australian women’s life expectancy is now at its highest ever recorded, and is one of the highest in the world, according to recently released research from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

The average life expectancy for females is now 84.6 years and for males it is 80.4 years, and these figures demonstrate huge gains in life expectancy over the last century since the Aged Pension was initially introduced in Australia in 1909 when the average life expectancy was below the eligibility age.

At that time it was anticipated that most people would not live long enough to receive the pension, and those that did would not get it for long.

Critical Importance of Making a Will to Protect Children’s Inheritance From Previous Relationships

Blended Families and Divorce, Estate Planning, Inheritance Claims & Contested Estates, Trusts & Guardianship, Wills, Wills and Estate Planning, Young ChildrenBy Rod Genders September 23, 2017

Critical Importance of Making a Will to Protect Children From Previous Relationships

Blended families include children form previous relationships (step-children). They are growing quickly in number, but many people do not stop and think about the implications on children from previous relationships if they die without a Will. It is a dangerous assumption that the law will automatically protect your biological and step children, as numerous scenarios can preclude or reduce the amount that they receive after you die if you do not seek the counsel of an experienced Wills lawyer in Adelaide.

What Happens If You Die Without a Will?
South Australian law provides that, depending on the size of your estate, your children from previous relationships may receive nothing if you die intestate. For estates valued at less than $100,000, the entire estate goes to the surviving spouse or domestic partner unless a valid Will is in place. For larger estates, your spouse is entitled to the first $100,000, your personal belongings and half of the estate’s balance. Without litigation, at best your children will receive equal shares of the remaining balance (if any).

Choosing a Guardian for Your Children

testamentary guardian, Wills, Wills and Estate Planning, Young ChildrenBy Rod Genders September 10, 2017

What is a testamentary guardian, and why do I need one for my children?
A testamentary guardian is an adult nominated in a parent’s Will to care for their minor children in case both parents die before the children turn 18.

When we have young children, we understand that if one parent dies, the other parent will automatically retain parental responsibility. But in case both parents die prematurely, each needs to nominate in their Will an alternate testamentary guardian for their minor children.

Otherwise your children may end up in a home you wouldn’t choose for them, being parented in a way that’s not in accordance with your values.

Hurricanes warn about risk planning

Trusts & Guardianship, Wills and Estate PlanningBy Rod Genders September 4, 2017

We all like to think of ourselves as resilient and adaptable to change. But all too often we only visualise ‘change’ of our own making, in our own good time.

It’s quite a different thing to deal with change that is forced upon us by outside forces.

The newsfeeds have been full of the deadly hurricane which wreaked havoc on the US state of Texas at the end of August 2017. This has highlighted the importance of risk management strategies to ensure that all of us can survive severe interruption.

Binding Financial Agreements are an Important Part of Modern Estate Planning

Estate Planning, Trusts, Trusts & Guardianship, Wills, Wills and Estate PlanningBy Rod Genders August 18, 2017

Modern relationships are fraught with tension and complexities when it comes to finances. Looking ahead to the time when you and your partner are established in your careers and have accrued considerable assets, it makes sense to want to protect what is yours should the relationship end.

Marriage, de facto and domestic partnerships

Australian Census data from 2011 shows that the married proportion of the total population has been falling. It is no longer the case that a majority of the population is married. Not so long ago the married proportion was as high as two-thirds of the entire population during the mid-20th century. In 2011, this has dropped to less than half., and the relative divorce rate in Australia remains one of the highest in the world.

Category Archives: Wills and Estate Planning

Marriage, de facto and domestic partnerships