Whilst growing your wealth is one part of a great financial plan, protecting your wealth in the event of your incapacity or death is just as important.

Many people think that Estate Planning is only for people close to retirement, especially if we fall into the trap of thinking that Estate Planning is just about getting a Will. But did you know that Estate Planning addresses key protection strategies whilst you’re still alive? It doesn’t matter who you are, Estate Planning is for everyone.

What are the key pillars of Estate Planning?

Estate Planning is all about making sure that you get the choice as to what happens to you and your assets – whether you need someone to make decisions on your behalf if you become incapacitated or you pass away, and your estate needs to be divided up.

1. Advance Care Directive

Should something happen to you, and you are unable to communicate decisions about your medical care and treatment, an advance care directive allows you to:

• Give other people directions about any future health care you may need,
• Make your wishes about the type(s) of treatment you want (and don’t want) known to medical professionals and,
• Appoint someone you trust to make decisions about health care on your behalf.

If the directive is valid, it must be followed and cannot be overridden by medical professionals or family members.

2. Power of Attorney

A Power of Attorney allows a person you nominate to make financial and legal decisions on your behalf if you lose capacity because of illness, injury, or disability. They can help ensure important financial and legal matters are handled without delay if you can’t manage them yourself – for example, paying your bills, managing your bank accounts, managing your investments, and buying and selling property.

3. A Valid Will

Whereas the first two pillars ensure that important matters are handled in accordance with your wishes if you’re incapacitated, a Will ensures that those same matters are handled in accordance with your wishes after your death. A Will gives you the best chance of ensuring that your assets go where you want them to. It also provides an opportunity to set up a testamentary trust upon the person’s death for additional protection and potential tax savings for nominated beneficiaries.

If you die without a valid Will:

• The Public Trustee will determine how your estate is to be distributed, which can take a lot of time and consultation with related parties.
• If you have a complex estate, children from different relationships, or are separated but have a new partner, this could lead to legal proceedings, infighting amongst relatives and your assets being wasted on legal fees or distributed against your wishes.

4. Superannuation

Superannuation is not automatically included as part of your estate. When you pass away, your superannuation is distributed to the person(s) you have nominated in the fund’s death benefit nomination. However, this may not be binding on the super fund, and if you haven’t nominated a beneficiary, this could result in a lengthy process as the super fund trustee needs to decide who gets the money.

An estate plan gives you choice and control.

Ensuring that your estate plan is in order gives you choice and control over how your affairs and assets will be handled, which in turn benefits both you and your loved ones.

If you would like to explore your estate planning options, contact us to get started.

The information contained in this article is general information only. It is not intended to be a recommendation, offer, advice or invitation to purchase, sell or otherwise deal in securities or other investments. Before making any decision in respect to a financial product, you should seek advice from an appropriately qualified professional.

We believe that the information contained in this document is accurate. However, we are not specifically licensed to provide tax or legal advice and any information that may relate to you should be confirmed with your tax or legal adviser.