Estate planning.
Wills, powers of attorney, trusts and estate administration — handled with the patience the subject deserves, and explained in language your family will still understand without you there.
What we do here
Simple and complex wills, enduring powers of attorney for property and personal care, and the signing formalities taken care of.
Family and testamentary trusts set up for the right reasons — then the resolutions, records and reviews that keep them valid.
Probate and letters of administration, assets collected and valued, debts and tax dealt with, beneficiaries kept informed, and the estate distributed efficiently.
Family Protection Act and relationship property claims, contested wills, and disputes between trustees and beneficiaries — resolved by agreement wherever that is realistic and referred to barristers where appropriate.
How it runs
What you own, who depends on you, and what you actually want to happen. In person or by video.
Drafts within a few days, with a plain-English summary of what each clause does and who it affects.
You take it away, read it, and change your mind if you need to. Our quoted fee will include at least one round of revision.
Signed and witnessed correctly, and the original held in safe custody.
Common questions
What is an enduring power of attorney?
It is a document appointing someone you trust to make decisions for you if you are no longer able to make them yourself. There are two kinds: one for property and financial affairs, and one for personal care and welfare. Without them in place, your family may need to apply to the Family Court before they can act for you.
We have a family trust that nobody has looked at in years. Does that matter?
Often yes. A trust that has no minutes, no reviewed deed and no real distinctions between trustee and personal decisions risks a successful challenge.
Someone is threatening to contest the will. What now?
Get advice before responding. Many of these claims settle, and the terms are usually far better for the estate when the response is measured and early rather than defensive and late.