Wills, Estates, Enduring Powers of Attorney

The team at Rapid Legal Solutions can provide experienced advice on a number of areas concerning when you, or a loved one departs. The following is a brief overview of these areas.

Wills

A Will is an important legal document which ensures that, on your death, your assets are distributed in accordance with your wishes. It can specify many things, including, any requests you may have regarding your burial or cremation, entrusting specific items to an immediate family member or close relative as well as appointing a guardian for any of your minor children. Through your Will, you also have the power to designate someone you trust to carry out your wishes and distribute your assets. This person is known as an executor and is legally capable of executing your wishes at the time of your death.

The Risks

If you die before creating a Will, your assets will be distributed in accordance with the intestacy legislation of Australia. This may result in your loved one missing out on part of your Estate or there may be the unwarranted mishandling of assets. A person, not of your choosing, can also be granted the ability to distribute your inheritance.

Rapid Legal Solutions is a team of dependable solicitors in Townsville. We have years of experience in administering Estates for families, assisting in drafting wills and guiding our clients through a series of crucial documents necessary for distributing assets. We make sure our fees are reasonable and that your requirements are met.

Taking Action

Our solicitors are more than willing to assist you. When creating a Will, it is important that you consider the following:

1. Who do I trust to carry out my wishes?
2. Who do I want to give my Assets to?
3. Who do I trust to look after my minor children?

If you have already created a Will in the past, we also suggest conducting regular reviews of your Will to ensure it reflects your current position. It is also important to conduct a regular review as events such as marriage and divorce may revoke any previous gifts you have specified in your Will.

Rapid Legal provides legal assistance for Wills in Kirwan, Aitkenvale and Charters Towers. To arrange an appointment to create your Will, or should you require changes to your existing Will, please contact our office as soon as possible through enquiries@rapidlegal.com.au or call us on 07 4755 9100 to discuss. We have the necessary expertise in creating Wills and we make sure we get all your instructions in writing.

Testamentary Trusts

It is possible to make a Will that sets up a testamentary trust on your death.  This allows you to gift your assets for the benefit of one or more other people, including your minor children, without ownership of those assets passing to those people.

Testamentary trusts are a useful asset protection tool if you find yourself wanting to provide for someone in your Will but that person has a drug or alcohol problem, is under a disability, has financial problems or is in a relationship that may end in breakdown or divorce which in turn may see a non-family member walk away with a large share of your hard earned wealth!

Testamentary trusts have many taxation benefits and can be used to minimise the overall amount of tax paid and in the case of families with a number of minor children or other beneficiaries not earning income, avoid it altogether.  They can help the next generation not only preserve but grow their inheritance whilst lawfully paying less tax.

Should you be thinking of creating a testamentary trust, or simply wanting to review your current Will, please contact our office as soon as possible through enquiries@rapidlegal.com.au or call us on 07 4755 9100 to discuss. We have the necessary expertise in creating wills and testamentary trusts and we make sure we get all your instructions in writing.

Business Succession Planning

If you are involved in a business with someone else, have you ever thought what will happen if that person died, lost capacity or became permanently disabled?  What if it happened to you?  How would your family survive without you?  Would they become involved in the business, partnership, trust or company?  Would the business survive without one of you?  Could it continue to pay its current levels of debts?

Answering these questions and documenting them in a Deed is business succession planning and will help reduce the heartache for your family and minimise the negative financial impacts for your business.

Our staff are experienced in this area and are trained to work alongside your insurance broker, and accountant, as required to ensure that both your business and loved ones survive critical events.

Should you be thinking of your business’s succession planning needs, please contact our office as soon as possible through enquiries@rapidlegal.com.au or call us on 07 4755 9100 to discuss. We have the necessary expertise in creating wills and testamentary trusts and we make sure we get all your instructions in writing.

Estates

Distribution of an Estate can be an overwhelming experience for Executors or family members of the recently departed. Given the complexity of most Estates, it is recommended that family members or an Executor of a Will seek Legal Advice as soon as they can.

Advice sought can include simple directions as to how to distribute an Estate, assistance with certain complex issues surrounding an estate, or it can also entail advising the Executor of their rights and obligations or assisting them when faced with legal problems.

Legal Assistance can also be sought when a family member or someone close to the deceased feels as though they have not been adequately provided for under the Will.

It is often the case that Financial Institutions will require Probate of a Will or Letters of Administration before releasing funds to an Executor. Obtaining Probate is a time consuming and complex process which requires drafting of Court Documents including Applications and Affidavits. Our solicitors can prepare and lodge these documents for you.

With our Townsville solicitors, the handling and distribution of the Estate will be less stressful.

If you require assistance or further information regarding an Estate matter, please contact our office as soon as possible through enquiries@rapidlegal.com.au or call us on (07) 4755 9100 to discuss.

Powers of Attorney

A Power of Attorney is an important and powerful legal document that appoints another person to deal with your affairs in the event that you are unable to do so yourself.

There are two types of Powers of Attorney.

A Power of Attorney can be used to appoint a person (called a donee) to look after your affairs, if for example, you are absent from the country for any reason and cannot sign documentation or attend to your financial matters.

The Power given under this document ceases if the document is revoked or if there is loss of legal capacity of the person who made the document.

An Enduring Power of Attorney is also used to appoint a person to look after your affairs, however the power can continue if the person who created the document loses legal capacity due to events such as ill health.

An Enduring Power of attorney must be created before the person loses their legal capacity. In the event an Enduring Power of Attorney has not been made prior to a person losing capacity it will then be necessary to apply to be appointed as the person to act on behalf of the person who has lost capacity. This is both a timely and expensive exercise.

If you wish to discuss the drafting of a Power of Attorney, please contact our office as soon as possible through enquiries@rapidlegal.com.au or call us on (07) 4755 9100 to discuss.

Advanced Health Directives

An Advance Health Directive is a document which specifies your future health instructions and comes into effect if you lose legal capacity.

It allows you to make a general statement such as wanting all available treatment or it can be used to provide more specific instructions such as wanting life sustaining measures to prolong your life.

An Advance Health Directive should be given to your General Practitioner and Family members so they know what your wishes are should you be unable to express them.

It is recommended that an Advance Health Directive is prepared as soon as possible. Or, at the very least, before being admitted into hospital or if you have a life threatening disease.

If you wish to discuss the drafting of an Advance Health Directive, please contact our office through enquiries@rapidlegal.com.au or call us on (07) 4755 9100 to discuss.