Estate Lawyer Gold Coast
Wills and Estate Lawyers and Solicitors on the Gold Coast
A wills and estate planning lawyer on the Gold Coast can help you with all matters related to your will and the planning of what happens to your estate after you die. Having a properly drawn up will is important step to take to protect your family once you die. Without a proper will or if your will is found to be invalid after your death, your estate, including all of your assets, money and your personal property may not be dealt with in accordance with your wishes.At QC Law we have wills and estate planning lawyers who are experienced taking your instructions and reflecting your wishes in a legal document (your will) that provides that your assets will go to your family or whoever you have decided you want to leave them to.
Our team of experienced and professional wills and estate lawyers at QC Law can assist you with any areas of estate planning law including:
• Drafting or updating your Will
• Estate Planning
• Powers of Attorney
• Guardianship
• Applying for Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration
• Assisting executors with the administration of estates and probate and guiding them through the legal process after someone passes away.
Having a legal will simplifies the process for those you leave behind after your death. But an Enduring Power of Attorney is also important to have in the event you become incapacitated and are unable to make decisions for yourself. Having an Enduring Power of Attorney confirming who you wish to make decisions for you in the event of your incapacitation or an Advance Health Directive explaining the way you wish to be treated if you need aged care and hospitalization, develop a condition such as dementia or Alzheimer’s where you’re unable to look after yourself or are placed on a life support system in a coma with almost no chance of recovery makes things clear and easier for you and your family.
An Estate Plan
An wills and estate lawyer from QC Law on the Gold Coast will be able to provide you with the following:
Some of the more common traffic offences we handle are:
• Your will
• A testamentary trust if required as part of your will
• What you want done with any remaining superannuation funds or payments? If you do not stipulate this the trustee of your super fund will decide
• What do you want done with your body after you have died?
• Enduring Power of Attorney
• Advance Health Directive
Your Will
Your will is part of your estate plan and if done properly a legal document that states what you want to happen to your assets (a will that is not drawn up according to the legal requirements may be invalid and can be challenged).
Your will can cover things such as:
• The way your assets are shared
• Who will look after any of your dependent children?
• Any trusts you decide to set up
• Any donations you may want to make
• Your funeral plans
It’s important that your will is kept up to date and any changes in your life or situation are taken into account such as:
• Getting married or starting a defacto relationship
• Having a marriage separation or divorce
• Ending a defacto relationship
• Winning money, gaining an inheritance or another financial change
• If anyone in your will dies
• Births in your family, siblings, children, grandchildren and stepchildren
Testamentary Trust
This type of trust takes effect after you die and is written into your will and is administered by a trustee, you have named. They look after your assets until they are distributed to your beneficiaries, this can be at a time you have nominated such as an age, education level or get married. It’s usually created when you have children under 18 years old, have diminished mental capacity or you suspect they will not use their inheritance wisely
Powers of attorney
A power of attorney gives another person the legal right to act and make decisions on your behalf and generally look after your affairs. Our wills and estate lawyers at QC Law on the Gold Coast will be able to advise you on creating a power of attorney.
There are different types of powers of attorney:
This type of power of attorney allows someone you specify to make legal and financial decision for you. It’s usually made when you are away and are not there to make decisions over a specified time. It will become invalid if you lose the capacity to make your own decisions.
An enduring power of attorney allows someone you specify to make legal and financial decision for you whether you are able to make your own decisions or not.
An enduring power of attorney for health and personal matters allows someone you specify to make medical decisions if you’re not able to, but does not allow for other types of decision making.
An experienced wills and estate lawyer from QC Law can advise you on all matters regarding your estate and will to ensure it meets all the legal requirements and reflects your wishes. Often a homemade will can be ruled invalid by the court when applying for Probate because it does not satisfy the legal requirements of Australian or Queensland laws for example if it was signed and witnessed incorrectly or if the wording used was unclear or not expressed properly according to the legal requirements.
If a will is rejected by the court during Probate, it can result in the need for litigation, the costs of which could impact your estate when the time comes to administer the estate and distribute the assets and diminish the amount that ends up with your loved ones.
A wills and estate lawyer from QC Law on the Gold Coast will listen to your wishes and your estate requirements and draft your will in accordance with your wishes and ensure the will meets the legal requirements and that your instructions will be carried out after you pass away.
At QC Law, we offer a friendly, stress free and competitively priced service for all your will, powers of attorney and probate and estate administration requirements, including wills, powers of attorney and trusts, to safeguard your family and assets after you pass away. A death in the family is already stressful and a correctly drafted is the best way to ensure the things you leave go to those who you have decided you want to leave them to.
