Estate planning 13 questions to ask yourself

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ESTATE PLANNING 13 QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF PRESENTED BY OWEN HODGE LAWYERS

Transcript of Estate planning 13 questions to ask yourself

ESTATE PLANNING13 QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF

PRESENTED BY OWEN HODGE LAWYERS

1. What is estate planning?

2. Who will be the guardian of your children in case of your death?

3. What will happen to your property in case no one is left to claim?

4. Check and Cross Check: Have you provided for everyone?

5. Have you told your lawyer about all the important relationships in your life?

6. What happens to your virtual identity, passwords and related material?

7. Have you preserved your sperm, eggs or

fertilised embryos for your future use?

8. Have you ever changed your identity?

9. Have you ever gifted large sums of money or

assets to others?

10. Have you ever entered in to a prenuptial

agreement or any other Binding Financial

Agreement (“BFA”)?

11. You love your pets but have you thought about

what will happen to them after your death?

12. Do I need to provide for a Power of Attorney or

a living will?

13. Do you suffer from any serious or chronic

health issues?

WHAT WE’LL COVER

1. WHAT IS ESTATE PLANNING?

“Estate planning is not just about making a will”

Estate planning involves

carefully considered

decisions regarding your

estate and property, your

future and also the future

of your children.

Instruments of a estate plan include:

• Will

• Superannuation death nominations

• Testamentary Trust

• Power of attorney

• Power of guardianship

• Anticipatory direction

Generally, people tend to

delay their decisions

regarding estate planning

until they are on the verge

of retirement or believe that

they will be incapacitated

soon. Estate planning

should not just be a

retirement related decision.

When you are making your

estate plan, it is important to

be clear about your needs

and requirements before

you decide to go ahead and

record your decisions about

who you authorize to take

decisions on your behalf in

your old age or wish to

bequeath your property to.

As part of your estate

plan, a will can be

written and updated by

private trustees and

solicitors, who usually

charge a fee. In NSW,

the NSW Trustee &

Guardian authority

provides professional

and independent trustee

services for drafting and

execution of a Will.

• Many people delay their Estate Planning and do not give a thought about whom to

appoint as the guardian of their minor children in case of their death or any other

sudden medical emergency.

• The general perception that Estate Planning is only a tool for retirement planning does

not hold good in these scenarios. Before you make your Will, you should be conscious

about whom to appoint as the guardian of your children.

• In case you fail to appoint a guardian, the Court may appoint one and that might not be

the best possible alternative that you had in mind for the children.

2. WHO WILL BE THE GUARDIAN OF

YOUR CHILDREN IN CASE OF YOUR

DEATH?

• Planning is necessary, but there will always be a probability of something

unforeseeable. All the arrangements that you had in your mind regarding distribution

of your assets after your death, might fail, due to a sudden natural disaster or any

other unforeseeable scenario.

• You should always take into consideration the unforeseeable situations and make

provision for division of your estate in case no immediate family members or friend

are alive or present to inherit or lay a claim to your estate.

• For many Will makers it is a huge stumbling block to decide about how to provide for

such a clause since many are unable to fathom the consequences of such a

scenario.

3. WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO YOUR

PROPERTY IN CASE NO ONE IS LEFT

TO CLAIM?

4. CHECK AND CROSS CHECK:

HAVE YOU PROVIDED

FOR EVERYONE?

• When you are making a Will, make sure fair

treatment is meted out to all your descendants and

beneficiaries.

• Be sure about whom do you want to provide for and

who is important in your life even if you do not share

a blood relationship with that person.

• In case you have an extended family or children from

a previous marriage or your spouse has children from

a previous relationship, be extra careful and cautious

about providing for them during your Estate Planning.

It is also important to provide clear instructions about

dealing with their claims later on, as it might result in

a legal mess later on.

5. HAVE YOU TOLD YOUR LAWYER

ABOUT ALL THE IMPORTANT

RELATIONSHIPS IN YOUR LIFE?

• Estate Planning can have consequences for your surviving loved one. If you want to

provide against long drawn courtroom battles, be sure to disclose all the important

relationships in your life – including intimate love affairs, children born out of wedlock,

previous domestic partnerships or same sex relationships.

• During Estate Planning you need to understand the legal implications and discuss them in

detail with your Lawyer.

• Do not hesitate to share information with your Lawyer as he/she can provide you with

necessary solutions. It is something that you need to do for your loved ones and the ones

you want to provide for after your death and disclosure of full information will prevent

chances of your estate being entangled in a legal mess later on.

6. WHAT HAPPEN TO YOUR VIRTUAL

IDENTITY, PASSWORDS AND

RELATED MATERIAL? It is an equally accepted truth

in today’s world, that your

natural death does not put an

end to your virtual identity.

When you are discussing Estate

Planning ideas with your Lawyers,

do not forget to discuss what to do

with your passwords, your emails

or online photo storage accounts.

Some of the passwords may

give access important and

sensitive financial

information. You may also

need to pass on some of

these passwords to the

beneficiaries mentioned in

your Will so that they can

access the accounts later

on.

Technology is ever changing

and your Lawyer may provide

you alternatives about storing

information on any cloud

based software or passing on

information through the

traditional means of keeping

them safe in deposit box with

your Lawyer.

That means, you also need to

provide for the method of

passing on those passwords

and other sensitive information

and how they can be accessed

after your death.

The choice will be yours, but

make sure that you give

thought about transfer of

any digital property as a part

of the Estate Planning

process.

7. HAVE YOU PRESERVED YOUR

SPERM, EGGS AND FERTILISED

EMBRYOS FOR YOUR FUTURE USE?

• Progress in the field of science and

technology has provided us with

options of preserving our genetic

material for future use.

• It has thus become important to

consider during Estate Planning

about how you want to provide for

any descendants conceived or born

after your death.

• Litigation involving children

conceived after the death of a legal

parent and ownership of genetic

material are relatively new and are a

sensitive area of litigation.

8. HAVE YOU EVER

CHANGED YOUR

You may remain the same in your

own eyes, but in the eyes of law, your

identity changes with a change in

your name, legal status or if you

consider undergoing gender

transition.

You should always update your Social

Security Registration, driver’s license,

passport, security clearances, professional

licenses and any other forms of

identification you have. This will ensure

that after your death, you beneficiaries and

loved ones are not embroiled in any legal

battle just to prove your identity!

Make sure that all the legal identification documents that you have reflect the true person that you are.

9. HAVE YOU EVER GIFTED LARGE SUMS

OF MONEY OR ASSETS TO OTHERS?

• We often tend to forget about the gifts that we made

to our near and dear ones when they might have

been undergoing financial hardships.

• While making Estate Planning arrangements, we

often forget about these gifts. However, some of

these gifts may incur huge tax liability and it is better

you think about any such gifts you had made

previously and disclose them to your lawyers.

10. HAVE YOU EVER ENTERED INTO A

PRENUPTIAL AGREEMENT OR ANY OTHER

BINDING FINANCIAL AGREEMENT (“BFA”)?

• The problem with a pre-nuptial agreement or a BFA entered long back is that they can

be easily forgotten and may also be ignored as irrelevant.

• However, your legal obligations do not change and it is important to think and recollect

about them and disclose such information to your Estate Planning Lawyer.

• He can guide you about what will still be relevant and what can be legally terminated

before your go ahead with your Estate Planning measures considering your future

financial needs and priorities.

Your pets are extremely sensitive and

intelligent creatures who will miss you

the most after your death. You should

be clear about whom to entrust with

the responsibility of taking care of

your pets after your death.

If you have pets with long life

expectancies you may need to form a

pet trust or you can also appoint

someone you trust to care of them.

11. YOU LOVE YOUR PETS BUT HAVE YOU

THOUGHT ABOUT WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO

THEM AFTER YOUR DEATH?

Alternatively, you may also

approach an organisation to take

care of your pets after your death.

12. DO I NEED TO PROVIDEA POWER OF ATTORNEY OR A LIVING WILL?

• An effective Estate Planning mechanism will not only provide for situations after

your death, but it will also consider situations where you are permanently

incapacitated due to old age or poor health. You may provide for Power of

Attorneys or appoint Enduring Guardians who you entrust with taking decisions on

your behalf.

• A living Will constitutes the health care directives you want to be followed in case

you are permanently incapacitated. Many people do not wish to live a mere

vegetative existence or on life support for long. They also do not wish to put their

family through a scenario of long drawn anguish.

• If you have any specific wish, you can provide instructions about how to deal with

such scenarios. You may have a Power of Attorney in place entrusting your spouse

or any other trusted person to take a decision on your behalf. Also, if you have any

specific wishes to be fulfilled, make sure your Estate Planning process contains the

provision for a living Will.

12. DO I NEED TO PROVIDEA POWER OF ATTORNEY OR A LIVING WILL?

13. DO YOU SUFFER FROM ANY SERIOUS OR CHRONIC HEALTH ISSUES?

• Estate Planning Lawyers and Attorneys follow the

same logic as your insurance agents when they ask

you about your health conditions and whether you

suffer from any chronic health issues.

• Estate Planning also involves sophisticated actuarial

calculations about your life expectancy. So if you

have any particular health concerns, your entire

Estate Planning can take into account any such

issues.

HOW CAN WE HELP YOU?

At Owen Hodge Lawyers we understand that Estate Planning involves

decision making covering your entire lifetime. More than the financial

costs, the emotional investment involved is substantial. A careful and

well thought out approach towards Estate Planning may require

disclosure of information of an extremely sensitive nature.

Our team of Lawyers know the sensitivities involved in the procedure.

We deal with our clients with the outmost compassion and sensitivity.

We have a team comprising of Lawyers who have worked with varied

Estate Planning situations and their vast experience in this field can

help you take appropriate decisions regarding your unique estate

planning needs.

If you have any questions about your estate plan,

please contact us on 1800 770 780 or 02 9570 7844.

OWEN HODGE LAWYERS

THANK YOU

http://www.owenhodge.com.au/