Wills and Estate Planning 

Between your home, savings, valuables, superannuation and life insurance, you accumulate a large value of assets over your lifetime. You need a plan to protect the assets you’ve worked so hard to build. A well crafted Will or Estate Plan ensures that on death your assets are passed on according to your wishes, while minimising taxation to your estate and beneficiaries. 

Why do I need a will or estate plan?

Basically, to ensure your assets are distributed on death according to your wishes. 

An effective Estate Plan incorporates carefully structured Wills, as well as Power of Attorney, Enduring Guardianship and Superannuation death benefit nominations. 

The benefits

A quality Will and Estate Plan ensures a successful transfer of assets to the next generation, or other beneficiaries. It is done in a manner that is tax effective, protective of family assets and ensure that wasteful and traumatic estate litigation is avoided. An inherent problem with many standard wills is that they do not take account of the implications of: 

  • Capital Gains Tax (hidden death duties)
  • The tax that will be payable by the beneficiaries on income earned from their legacy which may create a significant tax bill, that the beneficiaries can do little about
  • The Social Security impact of the person(s) who receive the inheritance.

What we do @ Prosperity

The team have extensive expertise in Will drafting, testamentary trusts, tax structuring of Estates and family entities, business succession planning, asset protection, prevention of claims against estates, property equity and trusts, responding to family breakdown and superannuation. 

We work through the following areas:

  • Estate distribution - the way you wish
  • Protecting beneficiaries inheritance from relationship breakdown
  • Minimising the pitfalls of income tax and Capital Gains Tax (CGT) on an Estate and beneficiaries
  • Effective structuring of superannuation death benefits and life insurance proceeds
  • Ensuring a family trust is considered in an Estate Plan
  • Put a plan in place regarding mental incapacity Power of Attorney and Enduring Guardianship
  • Effective protection for young beneficiaries.

One of the key strategies we use is a Testamentary Trust. A Testamentary Trust is a trust established by a Will, that comes into effect upon death of the Will maker. A carefully drafted Will establishing Testamentary Trusts can offer wide ranging benefits to the beneficiaries of an Estate. They can include tax savings and asset protection against incidents such as marriage break down and bankruptcy.

Our specialist Estate Planning team work very closely with our private and business clients, delivering tailored Wills and complex estate plans. The team has a unique blend of legal and accounting professions and focuses on ensuring clients’ hard earned assets are protected. 

Contact us

If you would like to discuss your estate planning needs with one of our directors, please contact Prosperity.