Estate Planning & Deceased Estates

With the world in the midst of a pandemic and many economies facing recession, financial pressures continue to build especially for young families. Now more than ever, children are turning to the bank of mum and dad for assistance with purchasing homes, paying down debts or getting themselves out of...

Strictly speaking, a testamentary trust comprises of any trust created under the terms of a Will. However, in recent times, the term ‘testamentary trust’ is most often used to describe what is commonly known as a ‘discretionary trust’ contained within a will. These trusts are almost identical to regular family...

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The Victorian Court of Appeal has recently handed down its decision in Wareham v Marsella [2020] VSCA 92 which has highlighted the need for trustees of SMSF’s to proceed cautiously when resolving to distribute a deceased member’s SMSF benefits in the absence of a valid binding death benefit nomination. This...

If you are one of the almost 50% of Australians who have taken the time and effort to make a will then well done- you are already ahead of the pack.  But don’t get complacent just yet. A will is not a “set and forget” kind of thing. You must...