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Wills - Big Sky Financial Solutions

Wills



Love is: Planning so they'll cope without you.

One of the most caring and important gifts you can ever give your family is effective estate planning.

Let’s face it. Most of us don’t want to add financial uncertainty to the enormous emotional upheaval and distress most families experience when a loved one dies. Yet too many Australians don’t even have the basics of estate planning - a current Will. Or if they do, their Will doesn’t reflect their current wishes or family situation.

With blended families more the norm than the exception these days, it’s more important than ever to spell out clearly how you wish your assets distributed. Because if you die intestate (without a Will) the government steps in with a standard prescribed formula, which may very well have consequences you did not anticipate or want.

For example, you may think that if you’re married with children and you die intestate, your estate would pass to your spouse. Not so. In most Australian states, the spouse is entitled to a prescribed amount, plus a portion of the estate. But the rest is divided between the children, regardless of their age or whether it is reasonable to divide the assets of the estate (for example, in the case of a business or an investment property it may make no financial sense to carve up the asset). And if your children are young, your spouse may find it very difficult to raise them without access to the finances you may have intended for them.

Here are some more curly questions. What if your spouse remarries and their new spouse is a gambler with access to your assets through their joint account? How can you prevent your children missing out if your spouse remarries and has more children with their new partner? How do you ensure your beneficiaries are responsible enough to handle the assets you pass on to them? (Unless you have a Will, your children will be entitled to full access at age 18). How can you be sure your financial intentions for your kids will be honoured if you and your spouse both die? These are just some of the worries you can remove by having a clear and current Will, supported by the right structures, such as testamentary trusts to carry out your wishes.

Effective estate planning may go much further than the drafting of an appropriate Will. For example, say you suffer a serious health crisis, becoming incapacitated and unable to make appropriate decisions? Here’s where a Power of Attorney comes in.

What if you own a business? Estate planning specialists work with you to structure effective ways to pass the business on, so it can survive and thrive even if you’re not there to drive it.

Effective estate planning is a crucial part of your overall financial arrangements. Without it, all the hard work you’ve put into building assets for a secure future for your loved ones may be in vain. Or at the very least, eroded by tax.

Big Sky Financial Solutions has now introduced a reasonably priced, high quality estate planning service to help you start planning ahead for your family’s future. Take the first step. Create a suitable Will by calling 1300 700 189 and speak to one of our specialists.