We understand the high importance of being able to control what happens to your assets both during your lifetime and upon your passing away.  Many of our clients come to us anxious about protecting their hard earned wealth and ensuring that family members and affairs are appropriately looked after.   We provide our clients with advice based on their current circumstances, including recommending asset holding structures and identifying areas where their assets are exposed to creditor claims.  We look at the specific needs of our clients and tailor our solutions to advise them of the best vehicle through which to manage their assets.

Trusts
Creating a Family Trust can be an effective way to dictate how your assets are to be managed or paid out on your behalf, and to ensure that your family members are properly looked after according to your wishes.  A carefully created Trust can also have many other benefits such as preventing relationship property claims, and protection against creditors.  We have considerable expertise in the Family Trust area and can provide sound advice on creating a Trust that works in the way that you want it to.  We enable the client to understand the Trust by giving clear and careful interpretations of its legal effect.  Our detailed accuracy and insight prevent errors that could affect the integrity of the Trust’s asset protection.

Challenging Trusts
If a Trust is already in place, you may feel that it has an unfair impact on other rights.  For example a trust may affect the legal treatment of relationship property or dispositions under a will.  We may be able to assist you to challenge a Family Trust by assessing whether it has a proper legal basis and to consider any terms that may indicate that it should be applied in a different way.  Our experience in trust law will means we can offer accurate and meaningful advice about the success of such a challenge.

Wills
It is important to consider what may happen to your assets upon your death.  At a painful time for friends and family, legal issues can be very difficult to manage.  If you die without a Will or with a Will that does not have proper legal standing, you risk your assets being distributed in ways other than how you intended.  We can assist to draft a comprehensive Will that is legally enforceable and accurately reflects your wishes.  As well as asset distribution, these may also include provisions for guardianship of your children or Enduring Powers of Attorney.  We recommend that you write a new Will any time there is a major change to your life circumstances, such as marriage, separation, having children or having a large change in the value of your assets.

Estates
In the unfortunate event that a loved one passes away, we can assist you to sort out their affairs.  We can administer an estate after a death to ensure all affairs are handled in a timely and appropriate fashion.  Our expertise will reduce the impact any legal dealings will have at this difficult time and ensure that the wishes of the deceased are respected, and the assets are distributed in an expeditious manner.