Singles Tax Effective Estate Planning Bundle

Start building for free: protects your family from death taxes, divorce and bankruptcy

Press START BUILDING FOR FREE. Answer the questions one page at a time. Read the hints and watch the training videos. Press Next to save your answers.

At LOCK AND BUILD, you can telephone Legal Consolidated to discuss your answers with a lawyer.

What is included in the Singles Estate Planning Bundle?

The Singles Estate Planning Bundle includes:

1. a tax-effective 3-Generation Testamentary Trust Will
2. two Enduring Powers of Attorney; and
3. two Medical, Lifestyle and Guardianship Powers of Attorney.

The Will protects your family when you die. The Powers of Attorney protect you while you are alive.

1. Tax-effective 3-Generation Testamentary Trust Will

Professor Brett Davies developed Legal Consolidated’s 3-Generation Testamentary Trust in 1997. Your beneficiaries use the flexibility in the Will to protect themselves from:

1. de facto death duties of CGT, income tax and stamp duty;
2. 32% tax on superannuation paid to adult children with Superannuation Testamentary Trusts;
3. bankruptcy with Bankruptcy Trusts;
4. divorce with Divorce Protection Trusts; and
5. being under 18, vulnerable or receiving Centrelink.

The trusts are flexible. A beneficiary can use the trust, leave it dormant, or turn it off when it is no longer required. Each beneficiary receives their own 3-Generation Testamentary Trust to use when needed.

The Wills provide freedom to divide the assets. Say your estate has $1 million in shares, $1 million in property and $1 million in cash. One child can take the shares. Another can take the property. The remaining child can take the cash. This stops an artificial split of every asset and helps reduce unnecessary CGT and stamp duty.

2. Enduring Power of Attorney: protect your money while you are alive

Your Will works when you die. Your Enduring Power of Attorney works while you are alive.

An Enduring Power of Attorney allows you to appoint people to make financial decisions for you if you cannot make those decisions yourself. It covers your assets, bank accounts, real estate and financial affairs.

Without an Enduring Power of Attorney, your family has to deal with the government.

Legal Consolidated is a national Australian law firm. Your Enduring Power of Attorney is prepared for your individual State or Territory. 

3. Medical and Lifestyle POA: protect your body while you are alive

Your Enduring POA protects your money, property and wealth. Your Medical and Lifestyle Power of Guardianship protects your body.

Who looks after you when you cannot speak for yourself? The government? The retirement home? The doctors? Or the people you love and trust?

A Medical and Lifestyle POA allows you to appoint people to make personal, lifestyle and medical decisions if you lose mental capacity. This is not just about the last day of your life. It includes decisions about where you live, who cares for you and what medical treatment you receive.

Mum trapped in aged care

A son and daughter telephoned Legal Consolidated. Their mum had Alzheimer’s disease and was in a nursing home that they did not believe was up to scratch. They wanted to move their Mum, but the home said they had no authority to touch or move him. Not even as the next of kin. Your Will and POAs include free advice. At no charge, we helped the son and daughter use the Legal Consolidated Medical Treatment Decision Maker to get her out of that facility.

Sister is stuck in a bad hospital

Two brothers were worried about the care their sister was receiving in the hospital. The doctors were, in their words, ‘behaving like Gods, not doctors’. At no charge, we helped the brothers use the Legal Consolidated Power of Guardianship. They moved her to another hospital. The doctors could not stop them.

Medical and Lifestyle POAs in each State and Territory

Legal Consolidated builds the Medical and Lifestyle POA for your State or Territory:

• Appointment of Enduring Guardian — NSW, WA and Tasmania
• Medical Treatment Decision Maker — Victoria
• Enduring Power of Attorney — Queensland and ACT
• Advance Care Directive — South Australia
• Advance Personal Plan — Northern Territory

The name changes. The purpose is the same. You choose who speaks for you when you cannot.

Free storage and monitoring of your signed Will

Your original signed Will is valuable. Keep it safe and let your Executors know where it is stored. (You may wish to email a copy of your Will to the Executors.)

You can store a signed Will at home, at the bank or with the Executors.

Alternatively, you can store your signed Will at no cost with a law firm specialising in Will storage.

Your signed Will is monitored. When you die, the law firm holding your original Will uses its best endeavours to get the original Will into your executor’s hands. They also help and support your executors in administering the deceased estate and setting up the many trusts in your will. Storing your Will is free.

 

Further issues covered in the free building process

Death Taxes

• Australia’s four death duties
• 32% tax on superannuation to children
• Selling a dead person’s home tax-free
• CGT on dead person’s jewellery and designer watch

Protecting Beneficiaries

• Divorce Protection Trust
• Bankruptcy Trusts
• Guardians for under 18-year-old children
• Will challenges

Assets not in your Will

• Joint tenancy assets and the family home
• Loans to children, parents or company 
• Who controls my Company at death?