Family farm lost after a 30-year promise is broken

A son works on a farm for three decades. His father makes him a promise. You get the farm. But the father’s Will gives the land to his other children. The son sues the estate. The court upholds the Will. The son loses the farm he worked his whole life to build....

Stop Backdating Trust Minutes: It Is a Crime

You must decide how to distribute your Family Trust’s income before 30 June each year. Documenting this decision after the fact is not just poor practice. It is a crime. The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) now actively looks for backdated documents. It has the...

How to operate a 3-Generation Testamentary Trust Will

A 3-Generation Testamentary Trust is a sophisticated and highly flexible estate planning tool designed to provide significant tax advantages and robust asset protection for your family across multiple generations. This comprehensive guide outlines what these trusts...

Are You a Beneficiary of a Trust Without Knowing It?

No one told me I was a beneficiary of a trust! You might be a beneficiary of a Family Trust and not even know it. It does not matter if you have never received a cent from the trust. If you are named in a class of beneficiaries (e.g. all cousins), you are a...

How to correctly display your Company Name and ACN in Australia

What is an Australian Company Number (ACN)? When you build your company on Legal Consolidated’s website, ASIC assigns your new company a unique, nine-digit number. This is its Australian Company Number, or ACN. Think of it as your company’s unique...

How to update your Wills and POAs for free

You can update your online Legal Consolidated 3-Generation Testamentary Trust Wills and POAs for free. As often as you wish. 1. Log back into: https://www.legalconsolidated.com.au/ 2. Go to Your Documents (under “Home”) 3. Email the Invoice...

Adding additional clauses to an Enduring POA

  The Dangers of “Exotic” Powers of Attorney Sometimes clients want to add additional clauses to their POA. These additions backfire and increase the risk that banks, land titles offices and government agencies will reject your POA. Instead, to have the highest...