Wills and enduring powers of attorney

We make the task of estate planning simple and straightforward.

Is the task of writing a will in the too-hard basket? You’re not alone. It’s confronting to think about your will and who should look after your affairs if you lost the capacity to.

Yet making a will and appointing enduring powers of attorney is incredibly important. These documents provide you and your loved ones with peace of mind and the assurance that your assets will be dealt with as you’ve specified. Without a will, your estate will be distributed according to a statutory formula. It can get complex, costly and upset those left behind.

With this in mind, it’s also important to encourage relatives who have not yet written a will or made enduring powers of attorney to get their affairs in order.

Making a will

Why engage a lawyer to make your will? An experienced will lawyer can help you draw a will that ensures your loved ones don’t suffer financially and reduces the risk of family conflict following your death. Without proper advice, what appears to be a simple will is often partially invalid, easily challenged and in either case, expensive to fix.

When writing a will, here’s why you should choose a will lawyer over a will kit (or, worse, nothing at all):

• Wills are complex
  On paper, many wills look pretty simple. Yet there’s a lot that goes on behind-the-scenes to get to that point. Asset structure needs to be considered so that there are proper arrangements put in place for assets not forming part of your estate (commonly superannuation and jointly held property). We guide you through the all-important questions and advise you to think you about matters that you might not have considered.

• Asset protection

  If you seek a greater degree of asset protection, are concerned about a particular beneficiary’s ability to manage their inheritance or would like to reduce taxation on the inheritance left to your heirs, we can discuss whether a testamentary trust is right for you.

• We’ll get it done
  Let’s face it, you might never get around to writing your own will. It’s not easy to decide who get what or who should look after your kids if the worst happens. We’ll help you tackle the difficult decisions and get the all-important document done and dusted.

Enduring powers of attorney

To make sure that a person you know and trust is there for you when you need them most, you need to make an enduring power of attorney and an appointment of medical treatment decision maker.

With the right documents in place, these people can step in and make the big decisions on your behalf when you can’t. Without them, if you become too ill to make your own decisions, VCAT decides who will look after your financial and personal affairs – which can be a messy, costly process.

In Victoria, an attorney appointed under an enduring power of attorney can:

• Enter into contracts

• Withdraw funds from your bank account

• Open and close utility accounts

• Manage your tax

• And more

A medical treatment decision maker can make medical treatment decisions for you when you cannot.  

McManus & Co Lawyers will help you draw up the documents appointing someone you trust. Our rigorous approach ensures that the documents are drawn and executed correctly – giving you and your loved ones peace of mind.