How to sign a Will
You are at the finish line – you are about to sign your Will. You have balanced the needs of your family, thought about your wealth distribution and your lawyer has drafted a protective and tax efficient Will. What could go wrong?
What is a family office?
You may have heard of the concept of a family office and wondered what on earth it’s all about. If you have sought retail therapy at MYER, watched free to air television on the Seven network or treated yourself to some Paspaley pearls, then you have inadvertently been in the realm of a family office.
It’s not always easy passing wealth to the next generation
When it comes time to make an Estate Plan, most people have at least some idea who they want to give their wealth to. In many cases, they first want to give it to their partner, and then after their partner dies, they want to share it equally among their children. This is what we call the ‘standard’ or default choice.
For families with considerable wealth, there is one more ‘layer’ of planning you must consider. This is the scenario if one of your children dies, either before or after inheriting.
Once again, there tends to be a default in this scenario, that is, the children of your child (i.e. your grandchildren) will take their parent’s share. In this manner, the wealth passes down your ‘family’s bloodline‘.
This sounds simple and appropriate, but it does raise several critically important issues – that justify more thought.
Farm Trusts | Stamp duty relief on farm transfers in South Australia
A farm trust is a discretionary trust that is used to own land for primary production while also providing flexibility so the property can eventually be transferred to other family members. Asset protection, tax efficiencies, and ‘controlled succession planning’ are the key benefits of a farm trust.
Andrew Andreyev chats with Tony Catt about family succession and conflict
If you are a family advisor or you are personally thinking about how you can keep family harmony in check when the next generation of your family steps up to the plate, this episode is a must-listen for you.
How do you appoint someone to make health or medical treatment decisions on your behalf in NSW?
As part of your end of life plan it is a good idea to appoint someone to make health or medical treatment decisions for you, if you become unable to make such decisions for yourself. It is also important to identify what your values, life goals and preferred outcomes are so the person appointed to make those health and medical treatment decisions can ensure their decision making is in line with your wishes.