Estate planning requires a consideration of many issues including willmaking and beneficiaries, superannuation, debt, gifts and trusts. 

Having your Will professionally drafted gives you peace of mind of knowing that your wishes have been properly documented.  Home-made wills, even those prepared with a pre-printed form, may save a small amount of money now, but may also cost your Estate many thousands of dollars later and cause your Exectors and beneficiaries unnecessary angst.  A mistake in drafting or an oversight can prove disastrous.  

Our estate planning lawyers will put you first.  That means that we listen to what you want, we carefully consider your whole financial situation, including any superannuation, trusts or potential future windfalls, and make sure that your specific requests are properly documented to give you peace of mind that your Estate will be properly administered in accordance with your wishes.  

Our experience is that the preparation of a Will is often more than the preparation of a single document.  It is an opportunity to review your affairs, and turn your mind to matters which arise as part of a consideration of your total estate planning. 

Estate planning encompasses consideration of the granting of Powers of Attorney.  A Power of Attorney appoints a person or persons to act in effect as your agent in certain circumstances.  Most often, those circumstances arise where you become incapable of making certain decisions for yourself.  Attorneys include general powers of attorney, enduring powers of attorney and medical powers of attorney, amongst others.  We can assist you in your consideration of which Power of Attorney is suitable for your circumstances. 

An important part of making a Will is the appointment of personal representatives to administer your Estate.  Such administrators are known as Executors.  The Executors are charged with carrying out your wishes as set out in your Will.  Those wishes may include your choice of burial or cremation.  Our experience is that close family members who are appointed as Executors can be overwhelmed by the administrative and legal tasks involved in administering an Estate.  Often, family members are grief-stricken and therefore ensuring that your wishes are clearly set out assists your administrators in discharging their duties.  Specifically, Executors must bring in the assets and pay the debts of the Estate, and distribute the residue to beneficiaries as specified in your Will.

An application for a Grant of Probate is made to the Probate Division of the Supreme Court of Victoria, and generally will take at least 2 to 4 weeks after all the relevant and necessary documentation has been completed.  We can help in this process by giving sensible, straightforward advice and ensuring that the process is undertaken in a timely manner.

For all your estate planning enquiries, please call Kerree McIvor on 03 9602 5800.

Our Expertise

• wills
• estate planning
• powers of attorney
• obtaining Grants of Probate