With everyone’s needs being unique, there are many reasons why our members come to us for help with their estate planning. Here are just some of the stories of how our members got their affairs in order so they could look forward to the future with more confidence.

Planning her estate helps Kay face her health challenges 

After Kay was diagnosed with cancer, organising an estate plan let her focus on her health.

The situation

When Kay was told she had a malignant brain tumour, it was a reminder to get better prepared for whatever the future held.

While she’d made a will years ago, she didn’t even know where the original was.

Kay’s health crisis made her think about what would happen if she wasn’t able to make decisions herself. She also realised the importance of ensuring her assets went to the right people in the event she died. With no spouse or children, Kay wanted to leave her property to her siblings.

The solution

Working with our estate planning team – who help many members facing health challenges – Kay put together all the essential estate planning documents to reflect her wishes. This included a new will, power of attorney and appointment of enduring guardian.

With everything in place, Kay could then face the future, including her upcoming medical treatment, with greater confidence and peace of mind.

To discuss how we can help with your estate planning needs, book an appointment with one of our friendly team.

Estate planning helps to relieve Joy and her family

Having come to us worried her affairs weren’t in order, Joy left knowing she and her family were well prepared.

The situation

Joy is the main carer for her husband who has dementia as well as carer for her disabled adult daughter who lives at home.

Because Joy thought she and her husband had only made wills, she was worried about who would make decisions for her and her husband if they lost capacity, and whether they’d made adequate provision for their daughter.

The solution

When she met with us, Joy brought in all her old documents, which had been in the drawer for years. Our estate planning lawyer reviewed the documents to see whether they were suitable and still reflected Joy and her husband’s wishes. After helping Joy understand her position, there was nothing to recommend!

As it turned out, Joy and her husband had already made a suitable will, power of attorney and appointment of enduring guardian (when her husband still had capacity). Her daughter had the same. Joy was relieved everything was in order and that whatever happened in the future, they had planned for the best possible outcome. 

To discuss how we can help with your estate planning needs, book an appointment with one of our friendly team.

Ann plans her estate to ensure her assets go where she wants

With no kids, and her family overseas, Ann wanted her parents and siblings to be her beneficiaries.

The situation 

Ann is single, with no children or other financial dependants, and her parents and siblings live overseas. She owns assets in Australia, including super.

Knowing it was wise to have a plan in place in case anything happened to her, Ann wanted an estate plan that provided for her super to be left to her parents and her other assets to be left to her siblings. 

The solution 

With the help of one of our estate planning lawyers, Ann made a super nomination in favour of her estate as well as a will to leave her super to her parents and the rest of her estate to her siblings. While the will captured Ann’s wishes, we also recommended that she make a power of attorney and appointment of enduring guardian.

Ann was happy to have everything organised so that her assets would go to her loved ones if she died, and that she would also be taken care of in the way she wanted if she couldn’t make decisions for herself.

To discuss how we can help with your estate planning needs, book an appointment with one of our friendly team.

Planning their estate helps Denis and Dianne to be clear about their wishes

A 45-year-old will is no longer the best estate plan for Denis and Dianne.

The situation

When Denis and Dianne first made their wills, they appointed a family friend as the executor and guardian of their young children, who are now adults. Over 40 years later, their nominated executor is no longer a close friend and the solicitor who prepared the will is retired, so they have no idea where their original wills are.

After a couple of people close to them died, and a terrorist bombing made them cancel their overseas holiday, Denis and Dianne thought it was time to get on top of their estate plan. Like many people, it was something they found hard to talk about and put off doing, even though they knew they had to do something.

The solution

Denis and Dianne talked to our estate planning lawyer who helped them create the documents they needed to reflect their wishes. This included a new will, power of attorney and appointment of enduring guardian appointing their children in key roles such as executor, attorney and enduring guardian.

Denis and Dianne now feel they can enjoy life and go travelling without worrying about who will look after their affairs – or where their assets would end up – if anything happened to them.

Denis and Dianne commented, “It was a pleasure working with you on this matter. Thank you for making the process easy and uncomplicated.”

To discuss how we can help with your estate planning needs, book an appointment with one of our friendly team.

To discuss how we can help with your estate planning needs, book an appointment with one of our friendly team.