Wills and Estate Planning

Having a properly drafted Will is a gift in itself to your loved ones.

If you pass away with out a Will, legislation dictates who can receive your estate assets and who can apply to the Court to administer your estate. Sadly, we have seen this often results in greater financial cost to your estate and emotional turmoil for your loved ones when once you are gone.

Many people ask what ‘Estate Planning’ means. Sure, it includes making a Will but it also means tailoring a holistic plan for your death and who will have legal authority to make decisions for you if you lose the ability to make decisions for yourself in the future. If you are a business owner, your estate plan also considers the passing of control of your business entities on your death or incapacity.

While some of your assets may form part of your ‘estate’ and pass to the beneficiaries in your Will, other assets of yours may not, such as jointly owned assets and superannuation. If you have companies or trusts, a proper estate plan will deal with the passing of control of your entities to the right people.

Our expert estate planning lawyers take the time to listen to and consider your individual circumstances, all of your assets, and your wishes. We also work collaboratively with your financial and tax advisers when needed. We then provide tailored advice and recommendations, ensuring that all components of your estate plan align before preparing your documents.

We offer a range of fixed-fee packages, which are designed to meet most circumstances.

Retirement & Aged Care Planning

Moving to retirement or aged care community is a significant life event and navigating this transition involves a LOT of paperwork!

If you are a mature individual or couple thinking about making the move, or perhaps you are an attorney assisting a loved one, we can help by clarifying the terms of the agreement, lease or licence (including the entry and exit conditions and costs), and attend to settlement on your behalf if required, all for a fixed fee.

Estate Administration

Being appointed as an executor can be a daunting experience, especially when you are grieving.

If a loved one passes away without a Will, we understand the uncertainty and stress this causes.

We can help put your mind at ease.

If you require a Grant of Probate, Letters of Administration and/or assistance with the administration of a deceased estate, we can take care of the paperwork for you, while guiding you through your obligations as an executor or administrator.

You can ask for a little assistance as and when you need it, or have us by your side throughout the whole administration.

If the estate you are administering is being contested, we can help you negotiate or mediate a peaceful resolution, while ensuring that you are still meeting your strict obligations as a executor or administrator.

At Life Legal our approach is to open dialogue between the parties with a view to resolving, rather than inflaming, the dispute. We foster positive relationships and aim to keep our clients out of Court if possible - an approach which generally reduces the emotional toll on our clients and legal costs quite significantly, compared with the traditional adversarial approach.

We know that litigation is sometimes necessary and we can also assist if this is the case.

We offer fixed fees for standard Grants of Representation and for many other standard estate administration services.