Estate Planning

Many people believe that estate planning involves only the signing of wills and powers of attorney.  Experienced estate planning lawyers recognise that a will alone is often not sufficient to ensure that your assets are dealt with in accordance with your wishes.   The experienced legal team at DSC Lawyers can succinctly and accurately explain to you what is really involved in the estate planning process with a view to ensuring that your objectives are met.

At DSC Lawyers we advise our clients on prudent and effective estate planning and on the intricacies of the field of law.  The lawyers at the firm have the requisite experience to know that all of your personal circumstances along with the manner in which you have structured your affairs need to be explored in detail for the estate planning process to be effectual and in order to best seek to ensure that your bequests operate in the desired manner. 

Many clients of the firm operate their businesses through and hold individual and family assets in structures or vehicles that serve asset protection objectives and that enable them to distribute income in a manner that minimises taxation.  The set up of all of these structures and vehicles need to be considered in detail in order for estate planning objectives to be met.

Hint: Your superannuation entitlements will not necessarily pass with the rest of the assets in your estate, and may not therefore pass to the intended beneficiaries, unless there is a binding nomination in your superannuation policy or in your self-managed superannuation fund deed.

The legal team at DSC Lawyers provide a complete service for all of your estate planning requirements including services in relation to:

• Wills and Powers of Attorney
• Various trusts including testamentary trusts
• Minimising taxation for your intended beneficiaries
• Succession planning for companies and businesses
• Superannuation and binding nominations
• Contested Estates and litigation and disputes in any way related to estate planning

Estate planning is often not properly considered by people until it is too late.  At DSC Lawyers we consider that it is never too early to structure your affairs so that your assets are distributed in accordance with your wishes should unforseen circumstances arise.  The firm will take into account all of your objectives and provide accurate and timely advice in relation your estate planning requirements.

Links

• Business Victoria: A resource with information on succession planning and estate planning
• Supreme Court of Victoria: Website of the Court in which applications for probate and letters of administration are made and that determines the majority of disputes related to deceased estates in Victoria