Planning for your family’s future after you are gone is a really important legal task.
If you take the time now to make an effective legally binding Will you can save your family not only stress but money in what will undoubtedly be a difficult time for them.
We can meet with you, draft your Will and then attend with you again to witness your Will for a fixed fee.
At the same time as considering your Will we strongly recommend that you also put in place plans for any future incapacity through an Enduring Power of Attorney. This will ensure that if you somehow become unable to make decisions about your finances, your medical treatment or living arrangements then the person or persons who you trust to make these decisions can do so unhindered.
Your Will is only one consideration particularly if you are in business. Estate planning is a more complex task. It involves considering the entirety of your estate and working with you to determine the most effective way to ensure the persons that you want to receive your estate, do receive your estate in the most efficient and tax effective way.
When working on your estate plan, we will need to consider numerous issues including:
There are several ways that a Will can be disputed. Examples of grounds for disputing a Will include that the Testator lacked the capacity to make the Will at the time or the Testator’s will was overborne at the time of making the Will.
Another and perhaps the most contentious ground is referred to as Family Provision. A certain class of persons have a statutory right to apply to Court for further and better provision from the estate of a Testator despite what the Testator’s intentions may have been at the time of making the Will. This class of persons include Spouses and children of the Testator.
A Family Provision application must be made within a strict time frame of the Testator’s date of death. Legal advice about bringing a Family Provision application should be obtained shortly after the Testator’s death.
We have experience in advising on the risks of these applications as well as advising on the prospects of success if a party wishes to bring such an application.
Donnie Harris Law can help:
Donnie Harris is an Accredited Specialist in Business Law (Qld) and has experience in delivering quality legal services to business owners throughout Queensland.
Liability limited by a scheme approved under the Professional Standards Legislation.
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