Everyone’s personal circumstances are different so its very important that your Will is prepared to suit your particular situation.
For some people a relatively straight forward Will is perfect. It will be customised to your situation, prepared by an experienced estate planning lawyer but will not be overly complicated. This type of Will suits individuals or couples who are employees, are leaving their assets to each other and then to their children.
If this is your situation then we recommend you consider either a Lawyer Checked, Online Will or a Standard Will prepared in person.
If your situation is more complicated you will most likely require a face to face meeting with our experienced estate planning lawyers to ensure your assets and relationships are properly taken care of without the risk for future disputes or arguments.
Our lawyers will discuss your particular situation and will then recommend either a Standard Will with additional, specialised clauses or a Testamentary Trust Will which is designed to meet a more complex situation and can provide the maximum benefit to your beneficiaries where significant assets or money is involved.
The options summarised
As always, we recommend you give us a call if you have any concerns about which Will is right for you but the following may give you an idea where to start:
Lawyer Checked, Online Will
This is right for you if:
- You wish to save time on an initial appointment.
- You may not be able to easily get to our office for an appointment.
- Your financial situation is straight forward. For example, you are an employee with a house, a car, some money and super.
- You wish to leave everything to a spouse and then your children.
- You do not own a business or have any trust or other assets held jointly by someone other than your spouse.
- You do not have children from a previous marriage or relationship.
- You do not have any particular concerns or questions that you need to discuss with our lawyers in more detail.
- You wish to keep costs to a minimum while ensuring a quality result.
Standard Will – Face to Face
This is right for you if:
- You can visit our office for an appointment .
- You have questions and concerns that you would like to discuss in detail with an experienced estate planning lawyer.
- Your financial situation is reasonably straight forward but:
- You own a business.
- You have trust or other financial/property structures.
- You work or own shares within a family owned enterprise.
- You wish to leave everything to your spouse and then your children OR you wish to make a slight variation to this such as uneven distributions to your children.
- You have children or financial obligations arising from a previous relationship.
- You have detailed specific gifts or directions that you wish to make within your Will.
Testamentary Trust Will
The term “Testamentary Trust” is a catch all term to describe a very diverse range of estate planning documents which offer solutions to the most complex and demanding personal and financial situations. They are also highly regarded as offering the most tax effective way to pass on assets to your beneficiaries
This is right for you if:
- You have questions and concerns that you need to discuss in detail with an experienced estate planning lawyer.
- You will make gifts under your Will in excess of $1 million dollars including property, money, shares, insurance proceeds and superannuation.
- You own a business that will struggle to operate in your absence.
- You plan on making an unequal gift among family members or excluding a particular family member.
- You have children from a previous relationship.
- You believe there are beneficiaries who will “make trouble” after you are gone and want to reduce their ability to do so.
- You have a beneficiary who you are concerned cannot manage the inheritance themselves.
- You want to minimise the impact of future relationship breakdowns occurring for your beneficiaries.
- You have a beneficiary with a disability.
- You wish to achieve the best possible tax result for your beneficiaries. We work with your accountant and financial planner to achieve this.
If your personal situation includes any of the factors above a Testamentary Trust Will may be the best solution for you. Our estate planning lawyers will discuss the options for you and craft the Will to ensure it achieves your objectives and addresses any concerns you may have.
If you believe you may require a Testamentary Trust Will we recommend you contacting Gray Lawyers parent firm, Clifford Gouldson Lawyers, directly to arrange an appointment to discuss your situation. The Lawyer Checked, Online Will provided by Gray Lawyers is not recommended for your situation.