Main residence CGT exemption and deceased estates: Why occupation rights matter
It is common for Wills to include arrangements that allow a family member to remain living in the family home for a period after the will-maker’s death. In circumstances where the home continues to be occupied as a residence prior to sale by the estate, the main residence Capital Gains Tax exemption has generally been […]
What to do if you suspect misuse of an enduring power of attorney
Suspecting that someone is misusing an enduring power of attorney can be very distressing, particularly when it involves a family member. Knowing the warning signs of elder financial abuse and understanding what legal options are available can make all the difference in protecting a vulnerable loved one. This article explains some of the common signs […]
The clock is ticking: why your estate plan could be undermined by forgotten loans
If you’ve loaned money to a child, a family trust, or to entities within your personal investment or business structure, you might assume those debts will be honoured, or at least recognised, when you pass away. However, unless steps are taken to formally record and maintain those loan arrangements, your executor may discover too late that the loans are no longer legally […]
Make a gift in your lifetime
Make a gift in your lifetime We structure the gift so it reaches the person you meant it for, and stays with them. You want to help now, while you are here to see it land. A deposit for a first home, capital for a business, school fees for a grandchild. The impulse is straightforward […]
Protect your estate from potential claims
Protect your estate from potential claims We structure the estate now so the choices you made are the ones that survive you. You have decided who should benefit from what you built, and you have probably decided who should not. Family provision legislation lets certain people ask a court to change that, and the bar […]
Protect a family loan from third parties
Protect a family loan from third parties We document the money as a secured loan, so a separation or a creditor cannot take it. You are helping one of your children into a house or a business, and you are not worried about them. You are worried about everyone else: the partner who may not […]
Business succession planning
Business succession planning We move control to the next generation while you are still here to steer it. You have built something worth handing on, and the people who would take it are ready, or nearly. What makes this hard is rarely the law. It is that you are deciding who runs the thing you […]
Incapacity planning
Incapacity planning We put the authority in the hands of someone you chose, before anyone needs to use it. You make decisions today that other people depend on. An accident, an illness or simply age can end that on any given morning, and the moment it does your family needs authority they will not have. […]
Estate planning and Wills
Estate planning and Wills We build the plan that gets what you have built to the people you meant it for. You know you need to sort this out, and every time you sit down to start you find a reason not to. That is normal, and it is not really about paperwork. It is […]
Trust control strategies and distribution deeds
Trust control strategies and distribution deeds We settle who controls the family trust after you, in documents your Will cannot reach. Most of what you have built probably sits in the family trust rather than in your own name, and that is the part your will does not touch. A trust does not pass under […]