Estate planning review · Pakenham
Sort your estate, while it's simple.
Estate planning is one of the most overlooked parts of retirement — and one of the simplest to get right, as long as you do it while you have the capacity to. We look after the parts we can, and we'll happily nag you about the rest until it's done.
Why now
The easiest thing people keep putting off
It's easy to leave estate planning for another day — but the right day is while you're well, clear-headed and able to make your own choices. Leave it too long and those choices can fall to a formula, or to other people, at the hardest possible moment. Done now, it's straightforward, and it stays out of your way until it's needed.
What we look after
The parts we take on for you
Your super nominations
We make sure your super death benefit nominations are valid, current and binding where that's the right call — so your super goes where you intend, without argument.
The tax your children would pay
Adult children are often taxed on the super they inherit. While you're alive, there are ways to move things around to reduce that tax — or remove it — which is a core part of what we review.
The honest conversation
We play devil's advocate about the rest of your estate — the what-ifs most people would rather not raise — so nothing important is left to chance, or to assumption.
Your will
Who does what, and who gets what: an executor and a back-up, your beneficiaries and their alternates, guardians where they're needed, and any exclusions. We help you get clear on every choice — and nag, kindly, until it's with your solicitor to draft.
Powers of Attorney
Who steps in if you can't decide for yourself: an enduring power of attorney for your financial matters, one for your personal and lifestyle decisions, and a medical treatment decision maker. Nominate them now, while you can — or the choice is taken out of your hands.
Keeping it current
Life moves — a marriage or divorce, new grandchildren, a business sold, an asset bought. We keep your nominations, will and powers under review, so they always match what you actually want.
When it's not straightforward
Blended families, complex estates, and the disputes nobody wants
Most of us know a story — sometimes from our own family — of an estate that ended up with the wrong person, at the wrong time, in a way the person who'd died would never have wanted. Second marriages, blended and extended families, an estranged relative, a child who needs protecting from themselves: this is where estates come unstuck.
Avoiding the subject is what causes the damage. Facing it — now, while you can — is what prevents it. It's where our straight-talking conversations matter most, and where getting your nominations, structures and exclusions right makes all the difference.
It matters just as much when the money is complicated — a family company, a trust, or a self-managed super fund. These don't simply pass under your will, and getting them to land where you intend takes planning that joins up the legal, tax and structural pieces. That join-up is exactly what we're built for.
The cost of leaving it
What happens if you do nothing
Putting it off isn't neutral — the law simply steps in, and rarely the way you'd choose.
No will
Your estate is divided by a fixed legal formula — the intestacy rules — which may look nothing like what you'd have wanted. It's slower, it can pull in the courts, and it's your family spending money on the legal system to untangle it.
No Powers of Attorney
Lose capacity without nominating someone, and the choices fall away from you. Decisions about your money or your care can end up with VCAT, which may appoint someone on your behalf — a process we wouldn't wish on anyone. And with no medical decision maker named, Victorian law decides who speaks for you, not you.
No super or insurance nomination
The one that catches people out: your super — and any life insurance inside it — doesn't follow your will. With no valid nomination, the fund's trustee decides who receives it, which can mean delay, the wrong person, or it landing in your estate where tax and any challenge can reach it.
A note on where you live: the rules described here — intestacy, Powers of Attorney and medical decision-making — are Victorian. The principles apply right across Australia, but the specifics differ from state to state. If you live outside Victoria, check the position with a solicitor in your own state.
Who does what
We tee it up; your solicitor signs it off
Once you're clear on what you want — your executors, your beneficiaries, any exclusions — your solicitor handles the legal drafting. That's their job, not ours. Ours is to get you to that point with confidence, and to look after the financial machinery around it: the super, the nominations, the tax.
And here's the part worth remembering: if you lose someone, call us first. Solicitors are excellent at the law, but claiming super and insurances isn't their strong suit — it's ours. When an estate has been set up properly, paying out super is one of the easiest parts, not the nightmare people fear. We do what we can at no additional charge, and tell you exactly what to see your solicitor about, and when. And if the estate needs probate, that's a solicitor's job too — we'll flag when it's likely. There's more on what happens after a death on our dealing with bereavement page.
Happy to do your Powers of Attorney yourself? Victoria's official forms and step-by-step guidance — including the witnessing rules — are published on the justice.vic.gov.au website. Complete them yourself if you'd rather; just let us know when they're done, so we can check everything lines up with the rest of your plan.
Common questions
The things people ask
Do you write my will?
No — your solicitor drafts the legal documents. Our job is to get you to the point of knowing exactly what you want, look after the super and tax side, and keep nudging until it's all in place.
Will my children pay tax on my super?
They can. Adult children who inherit super are often taxed on part of it. While you're alive, there are ways to reduce or remove that tax — which is a core part of what we review.
I've heard super is hard to get out — should I move it to the bank?
It's a common worry, but in our experience the opposite is true. Set up properly, super is one of the easiest things to pass on. The difficulties usually trace back to a fund that was never set up with this day in mind.
Get it sorted while it's simple
Book a complimentary, no-obligation 15-minute phone chat and we'll talk through where things stand. We'll quote any fees up front, so you know exactly where you stand. (It's general information, not personal advice.)
Book your chatOr call us on (03) 5941 5955 · Mon–Thu, 8:30am–5:00pm
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