WILLS AND ESTATE PLANNING
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INDIVIDUALS
Packages for individuals starting from:
- Everyone is different, we customise our packages depending on your needs.
COUPLES
Packages for couples starting from:
- Everyone is different, we customise our packages depending on your needs.
Estate Planning
Estate planning is not just about Wills, it’s about planning for when things happen in life. While a Will is an important document, you should also consider planning for a time in your life when you might need to rely on others to make decisions for you.
We can provide help and advice with the following:
- Drafting a will;
- Powers of attorney;
- Enduring Guardianship;
- Binding Death Benefit Nominations for your Superannuation;
- Applying for Probate after the passing of a loved one (see our Estate Administration page)
Everyone is different, we customise our packages depending on your needs, click here to find out about our fees.
Thinking about what will happen after you pass away is daunting but incredibly important.
A Will doesn’t have to cost the earth or be complicated but there are strict requirements for making a valid Will in Australia. This is why it is important to talk to a lawyer about your Will.
A properly drafted Will should take into account your financial position, the type of assets you hold, the location of your assets, any children you have and the type of relationship you are in (de facto or married).
If you die without a Will, your assets are automatically distributed in line with the Intestacy Act 2010 (Tas) without any consideration of what you would have wanted. It is also possible that an agency such as the Public Trustee would be appointed as the administrator of your estate/assets. In that situation, the administrator would charge professional fees for organising the sale of your assets which ultimately reduces the amount that your family will be paid.
Advocate Lawyers have fixed fee options for simple Wills. Call us for an initial discussion with a lawyer about your Will.
An Enduring Power of Attorney is a document that nominates a person or organisation to make financial decisions if you are temporarily or permanently incapacitated. If a doctor provides a medical certificate stating that you have lost the capacity to make your own decisions then your nominated attorney can step in to make them for you.
Powers of Attorney are also useful when you know you will be unavailable to sign important documents for a period of time. For example, if you are buying a house but will be interstate or overseas for a few weeks and unavailable to sign important documents then you might want to nominate a family member to sign for you.
In Tasmania, a Power of Attorney must be registered to be relied upon and we ensure that this is taken care of so that you can have peace of mind no matter what the future holds.
If you are looking to manage a loved one’s finances but they have already lost capacity and can’t sign a Power of Attorney, we can help you apply to the Tasmanian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (TASCAT) to be appointed as their attorney.
Advocate Lawyers also have fixed-price packages which include Power of Attorney documents. Call us for an obligation-free discussion.
An Enduring Guardianship document allows you to appoint guardian/s to make health or lifestyle decisions for you if you are unable to make them yourself. A guardian may make decisions on what medical treatment you receive or what doctors you see and how often.
If you need to make decisions for someone who has already lost capacity but has not nominated a guardian then we can help you apply to Tasmanian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (TASCAT) to be appointed as their guardian.
An appointment of enduring guardian must be registered to be relied upon and we ensure that this is taken care of.
Advocate Lawyers also have fixed-price packages which include enduring guardianship documents. Call us for an obligation-free discussion.
Many people are surprised to find out that their Will doesn’t automatically include their superannuation. Superannuation is handled separately to your Will and you need to nominate a beneficiary with your super fund who will receive your superannuation after you die.
There are different types of nominations. A Binding Death Benefit Nomination is different to a nomination you may have made through your online account which may not be binding. Without a binding nomination, your super fund may decide who gets your superannuation.
There are also laws governing who can receive your superannuation. You can only nominate your spouse/de facto partner, your children, financial dependents or the legal representative of your estate. Some nominations have tax consequences and you may want to seek financial advice on this before completing your nomination.
Estate Planning Fees
Our professional fees differ depending on the complexity of your circumstances, your instructions, the amount of time and number of documents required to properly capture and execute your wishes. We have fixed fees for Standard Wills only but can provide costs estimates for more complicated circumstances.
Call us now for an initial consultation with a lawyer, or click here to get started.
Standard Wills (Fixed Fee)
Our fixed professional fees are available where circumstances are straightforward, for example:
- You leave your estate to your immediate family, such as children or grandchildren in equal shares;
- You leave up to three specific gifts, such as sentimental items or fixed sums, to a particular person;
- For couples, both wills follow the same structure (often called ‘mirror wills’); and
- You have no significant complicating factors such as blended family, being directors of a private company, having assets held in a company or trust, funds in self-managed superannuation, or requiring the exclusion of a close family member from your estate.
Our fixed-price packages start from:
- Standard Wills – $1,100 for individuals and $1,500 for couples
Bespoke Estate Planning (Hourly Rate)
For clients with more complex circumstances, we work on an hourly basis. This ensures the time we spend is proportionate to the complexity of your matter, and that we can focus on the detail to ensure your instructions are properly captured.
Bespoke Estate Planning is appropriate where your circumstances include any of the following:
- You want to treat gifts between immediate family members unequally, or have specific reasons for excluding a close family member from your Will;
- You are part of a blended family where one or both of you have children from a previous relationship whose interests you want to protect;
- You want to allow a partner or loved one to use a property or benefit from your estate without inheriting it outright (for example, through a right of occupation or life estate);
- Your assets include a self-managed superannuation fund, a company, a trust structure, or assets held overseas;
- You are interested in a testamentary trust which is a trust created by your will to hold assets for your beneficiaries rather than distributing them outright. These are commonly considered where an estate is worth $500,000 or more, or where you have a beneficiary who should have the funds protected for them, and can offer significant tax and asset protection advantages;
- Your will requires more than three specific gifts, gifts to charities, or involves a detailed or conditional distribution which has to be specifically drafted around your instructions;
- You require us to attend your home, hospital, aged care or retirement facility or any place outside our office to take instructions or sign your will;
- You wish for us to assist with drafting a Memorandum of Wishes which is a non-binding document that gives guidance to your executor on how you wish to have your estate administered; and/or
- Any other situation where your instructions involve complexity beyond what a Standard Will can accommodate.
Please note: We offer off-site visits where you require us to come to you at home, a retirement village or hospital. Please call us on 03 6204 9000 for a quote.
Our Process and How We Work With You
We start with an in-person consultation at our office, where we sit down with you, without rushing, to go through your instructions to get the full picture. We get everything we need to give accurate, tailored advice and a clear cost estimate before any drafting begins. Our process is as follows:
- You complete our instructions form: Before we meet, you fill in our estate planning instructions form. This gives us a head start so we can make the most of your appointment;
- We meet in person: We sit down with you at our Hobart or Kingston office to go through your instructions in detail and answer any questions. This usually takes 45–60 minutes. If you can’t make it into the office, we offer phone consults or meetings using video conferencing such as Teams;
- We confirm your approach and costs in writing: Following your appointment, we confirm in writing what we recommend and what it will cost, either a fixed fee (for Standard Wills) or an hourly estimate (for Bespoke Wills). You decide how to proceed from there.
- Drafting and review: We draft your documents, send you a plain English letter explaining the documents and what they mean. We’ll book a signing appointment once you’re happy with the drafts.
- Storage and Registration – Copies are made of your original documents and your original Will is scanned and placed in our safe custody. Any power of attorney or enduring guardianship documents are registered and superannuation nominations are sent to your fund.
