Wills and Estates
Planning for your family’s future in your will is a very important and personal legal matter. If you take the time now to make an effective legally binding Last Will and Testament, you can save your family not only stress but money in what will undoubtedly be a difficult time for them. We can assist you by:
- Drafting a Last Will and Testament for you that will maximise the inheritance for your beneficiaries
- Drafting Enduring Power of Attorney (financial) and Advance Care Directive (medical and lifestyle) documents
- Managing Probate and Letters of Administration matters
- Advising you in relation to appointing executors, guardians for your minor children, attorneys and substitute-decision makers
- Setting up family and testamentary trusts
- Advising you on how to minimise the chance that your will be contested and subject to litigation
- Advising you in relation to estate tax (including capital gains) and financial concerns
- Advising you in relation to estate and Probate laws
- Safely storing your Last Will and Testament and other important legal documents
At the same time as considering your Last Will and Testament, we strongly recommend that you also put in place plans for any future incapacity through Enduring Power of Attorney and Advance Care Directive documents. 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 legally do so.
Contact us to find out more or to arrange a consultation with an experienced estate lawyer.
Estate Administration
At Furler & Co we understand that dealing with a deceased estate is one of the more difficult challenges in life. From mountains of paper work to legal jargon and simmering family disputes, they’re the last things you want to deal with when you’re grieving the loss of someone important in your life.So, let us help you by:
- Interpreting the Will of the deceased in terms of estate laws
- Advising executors and trustees in regard to their duties and rights
- Informing government bodies including Centrelink and Veterans Affairs
- Applying for Probate of the Will in the Supreme Court
- Dealing with intestacy (where there is no Will)
- Applying for Letters of Administration (if the Will is deemed invalid or is absent)
- Identifying estate assets and liabilities
- Obtaining valuations of estate property
- Collecting estate financial assets including superannuation, bank funds, shares, outstanding loans, and insurance payouts
- Selling or transferring estate property including estate auctions
- Paying estate debts including mortgages, funeral costs, and testamentary expenses
- Advising in regard to family and testamentary trusts
- Administering trust funds
- Distributing bequests and inheritances to beneficiaries
- Organising information for estate tax returns
- Family mediation and negotiation
- Contesting wills and defending estate litigation in the Supreme Court
Contact us to find out more or to arrange a first free appointment with an experienced estate lawyer.