Estate Planning Lawyers Sydney

Our experienced estate planning lawyers in Sydney can help you with every aspect of estate planning, from creating or updating your will, to appointing a power of attorney or enduring guardian, and assisting with business succession planning.

Wills & Disputes

As experienced Sydney wills and estate lawyers, we can give you peace of mind when it comes to estate planning. A will is one of the most important documents that you will ever sign. Our lawyers can make sure that your will covers your present circumstances, and takes care of the foreseeable future.

The purpose of a will is for you to communicate how you want your assets to be distributed after your death. You can also use a will to plan your funeral and make arrangements for the care of your children and pets. A will also allows you to choose an executor who will be in charge of making sure your wishes are met. If you fail to make a will, NSW law decides how to dispose of your assets, and this may be very different to what you have in mind.

Power of Attorney

A power of attorney is a legal document authorising another person to act on your behalf. There are two types of power of attorney, a general power of attorney and an enduring power of attorney.

A general power of attorney is useful for a limited time and purpose. They can only be used while you are still of sound legal capacity. For instance, you might sign a power of attorney if you are travelling overseas so that a family member can pay your bills while you are gone.

An enduring power of attorney, on the other hand, only ceases to apply when you pass away. With this type of document, your Attorney can take care of your financial affairs even if you cannot make decisions for yourself because of injury or illness.

If you lose capacity and cannot make decisions but haven’t made an enduring Power of Attorney, there will be nobody with legal authority to manage or make decisions about your property and finances:

• Your family may have difficulty accessing your bank account to pay your bills.
• If your home needs to be sold (for example, to pay for you to move into residential aged care) only someone with your power of attorney will be able to do this.
• A relative or another person may need to apply to the Guardianship Division of the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) or the Supreme Court to have a financial manager appointed for you. This may not be the person you would have chosen.

Our estate planning lawyers in Sydney can advise you on the type of power of attorney that is best for your circumstances, who may be best suited to fulfil the role, and ensure that all the legal formalities are completed.

Enduring Guardianship

You can also appoint an enduring guardian to make lifestyle and health decisions on your behalf if you no longer have the capacity to make these sorts of decisions for yourself. With an enduring guardianship, you decide on the functions that you want to give to the Guardian. For instance, this might be to have the power to make decisions about where you live. You can revoke an enduring guardianship at any time as long as you have the capacity.

Business Succession Planning

Effective succession planning is critical to the ongoing success of any business. A business succession plan can limit conflict and minimise the disruption caused by a change in leadership. The purpose of this sort of plan is to “pre-agree” to a strategy to ensure a smooth transition into the hands of the most appropriate leader should the business owner retire or pass away unexpectedly.

Our lawyers can assist you to move forward by:

• Developing a transition plan;
• Advising on business restructuring;
• Identifying and managing business risk;
• Identifying potential stakeholder issues and family dynamics; and
• Advising on corporate governance.

Sydney Estate Planning Lawyers

Remember, Sydney estate planning is an active process of reviewing your plans as your financial and personal circumstances change. For example, you may need to update your will and estate plan when:

• you marry, separate, divorce, or start a new relationship
• you have a child or adopt a child
• a beneficiary or executor named in your Will dies
• there is a major change to your health
• you buy or sell property, start a business, or acquire company interests
• you receive an inheritance or large sum
• there are changes to your superannuation, personal insurance or tax levels
• you become involved in a trust

If you need assistance contact one of our lawyers at [email protected] or call 02 9150 6991 for expert legal advice.