Estate Planning

An important aspect of your life which covers everything from Wills, Powers of Attorney and Enduring Guardianships to Binding Death Nominations, Advanced Health Care Directives and Family Trusts. You can visit one of our offices for a free consultation or we can provide a mobile service to anywhere on the Northern Beaches, North Sydney, Parramatta, Penrith and Blue Mountains areas.

Wills

This is a legal document that gives you the power to appoint an Executor to look after your assets after your death. It directs how to distribute your assets and how to take care of any liabilities that you may have. It can also set out who will look after any children that may be of minor age and set up trusts for those children. It can even give burial instructions. We can help you prepare a Will to suit your individual circumstances.

Enduring Power of Attorney

This is a legal document that gives you the power to appoint a person to look after your financial circumstances. It can allow your attorney to access your bank accounts to pay your bills, deal with Aged Care facilities, Medicare and other government institutions. It could also allow your attorney to sell or purchase real estate and shares and execute legal documents. We can help you tailor the document to your individual needs.

Enduring Guardianship

This is a legal document that allows you to appoint a Guardian to take care of your health and lifestyle for you, but only when you have lost the capacity to make those decisions for yourself. Your Guardian can make decisions regarding where you live, what health care services you receive and it will continue to have effect until you die or until the appointment is revoked. We can help you decide who to appoint as your Guardian.

Fixed Fee Pricing and Packages Available

Estate planning gives you the power to appoint the person or persons who you trust to look after your affairs during your lifetime and after your death. It doesn’t need to be complex. It can be a very simple process.

We can advise you on the documents that will protect your interests during your lifetime including:

General or Enduring Power of Attorney
Enduring Guardianship
Advance Health Care Directive
Superannuation Binding Death Benefit Nomination

A general power of attorney for example is used if you be unable to attend to your financial matters due to health issues, hospitalisation or an overseas trip.

We can advise you on how to best structure your Will including:

who receives your assets and in what proportion
who has guardianship of children
how to set up testamentary trusts
life estates and rights to reside
any burial instructions

We can advise you on appointing Executors and Trustees and on providing for family members with disabilities or young children. We can also advise you on how to provide for a later spouse and children from an earlier marriage or relationship.

We can also advise you on how to deal with your superannuation benefits on your death. Superannuation is not an asset unless it is paid to your Estate and specific instructions need to be given to the Trustees of the Superannuation Fund.

If you already have Estate Planning documents in place, we are happy to review them for you to ensure that they do not require any changes due to relationship and marriage breakdown or the birth of a child.

Court Legal are experienced Estate Planning lawyers and we can demystify and explain to you all aspects of the documents you need. We understand that it may be daunting or difficult for you to discuss these matters with strangers. At Court Legal we pride ourselves on being compassionate and dealing with these matters in a professional and caring manner.

Let us put your mind at ease.

Powers of Attorney FAQs

What is an Enduring Power of Attorney?

An Enduring Power of Attorney is a legal document which you can use to appoint a person to make decisions about your property or financial affairs if you lose mental capacity such as if you develop dementia, have a stroke or sustain a brain injury in a car accident. Your Attorney can make decisions without consulting you.

Why make an Enduring Power of Attorney?

Because you choose who you want to manage your financial affairs if you lose the mental capacity to do this for yourself. If you do not have an Enduring Power of Attorney and you lose mental capacity, there may be no one with legal authority to manage your financial affairs. This may mean that the Guardianship Tribunal or the Supreme Court will need to appoint a financial manager for you.

What is the difference to a General Power of Attorney?

A General Power of Attorney ceases to have effect after you lose the mental capacity to make financial decisions. An Enduring Power of Attorney will continue even after you lose mental capacity.

Who can appoint an Enduring Power of Attorney?

Anyone over the age of 18 years (not just old and infirm people) can make an Enduring Power of Attorney if they have the mental capacity to understand the nature and effect of the Power of Attorney. You must have mental capacity when signing the document and capable of understanding the nature and effect of the Enduring Power of Attorney.

What decisions can the Attorney make?

The Attorney can make decisions about your property or financial affairs such as operating your bank accounts, paying your bills and selling or buying property (such as your house or shares) on your behalf. An Enduring Power of Attorney cannot be used to make medical or lifestyle decisions for you.

How many Attorneys can I appoint?

You can appoint more than one Attorney to act.

jointly and severally (this means that the Attorney can make decisions together or separately – if together they must agree on all decisions),
severally (this means that any one of the Attorneys can make decisions independently of the other Attorney).

Who should you choose to be an Attorney?

someone over the age of 18 years
someone you trust and who will manage your finances in a responsible way.
someone who has the skills to deal with complex financial arrangements
a family member or a close friend

When does an Enduring Power of Attorney end?

An Enduring Power of Attorney ends when you revoke it, on your death, when you have appointed one Attorney and that Attorney dies or can no longer act as Attorney or when you have appointed two or more Attorneys to act jointly and one of them dies or can no longer act as your Attorney. The Enduring Power of Attorney may also end for more complex legal reasons such as bankruptcy. You should seek legal advice about these matters.

When does an Enduring Power of Attorney start?

The Principal of the Power of Attorney decides whether to have the Power of Attorney operate immediately or only when the Principal is not capable of managing their own financial affairs.

Making it operate immediately does not mean the Principal loses control over their own affairs. It merely enables the Attorneys to act for the Principal at any time. This can be important if, say, the Principal is overseas and needs some financial arrangement completed during their absence.

If the Power of Attorney is only to operate when the Attorney considers that the Principal cannot manage their own financial affairs, then the main issue is determining when that might arise. We consider that the Principal, faced with making that decision, would have to obtain a written medical opinion from the Principal’s treating doctor to verify that the Principal was not capable. It should also be borne in mind that any company or Government authority would also require that sort of evidence to establish that the Principal was not capable of managing their own affairs and that the Attorney could then act on the Principal’s behalf.”

What if I am not physically capable of signing?

If you are competent to make an Enduring Power of Attorney but you are not physically able to sign the form, an eligible signer can sign for you. An eligible signer must be over 18 and cannot be the Enduring Guardian or a witness. You must be present when the eligible signer signs on your behalf.

Can I revoke the appointment?

While you are capable of making your own decisions, you can revoke the appointment of an Enduring Power of Attorney by advising the Attorney in writing and advising any other party that may have a copy of the Enduring Power of Attorney that you have revoked it.

You can change the appointment of Attorney as well as change the functions or directions given to your Attorney. You will need to complete a new form of appointment for this as well.

How do I appoint an Enduring Power of Attorney?

Step 1

You need to discuss the appointment with your chosen Enduring Power of Attorney or Attorneys and make sure they are willing to take on this responsibility.

Step 2

Make an appointment to see us at Court Legal. The form must be witnessed by an eligible witness such as a solicitor with a current practising certificate.

Step 3

Keep the original document in safe custody and keep a copy for yourself, give a copy to your Attorney and if you need, give copies to your bank and accountant doctors and other financial advisors.

*If your attorney needs to use the enduring power of attorney to deal with any real estate you own in NSW, then the document must be registered with the department of Lands.