What you need to know about Estate Planning and COVID-19 April 21, 2020

During this unprecedented time of risk and uncertainty, we have seen a significant rise in the number of people seeking our advice on their Wills and general estate planning

With the COVID-19 pandemic impacting more people every day, it is increasingly important to prioritise the management of your affairs and immediately ensure your Will and estate planning documents are prepared, up-to-date and adhere to legal requirements.

How social distancing impacts Estate Planning

The continuing restrictions on our everyday life impedes not only on the ability to consider and have prepared these necessary documents but also to have easy access to appropriate witnesses for execution of these documents. We encourage you to contact us about these matters now if you’re thinking of updating your Will, Power of Attorney or generally thinking about your current estate planning so we can assist you in achieving a workable outcome.

What are the consequences of inadequate estate planning?

 If you do not have a Will or if your Will is inappropriate for your current situation, there could be unintended consequences for your family and loved ones.

Problems may arise if any of these statements apply to you:

• You do not have a Will
• You have a Will that is no longer relevant to your current situation
• You prepared a Will yourself which might be invalid if it does not meet legal requirements
• You do not have a Power of Attorney appointing someone you trust to manage your financial and personal affairs in the event you are unable to do so yourself
• You control a company but do not have a company Power of Attorney nominating someone else to act on behalf of the company if you are unable to do so
• You have not appointed a Medical Treatment Decision maker and have not made an advance care directive setting out your wishes for medical treatment
• You have not implemented succession plans for your family trust
• You have not made binding death benefit nominations for your superannuation or life insurance to ensure these funds are given in accordance with your wishes.

How we can help

Our Wills & Estate team is available to:

• Prepare your Will
• Review the suitability of your existing Will
• Review the way your assets are held
• Review your trust deeds and implement a succession plan
• Prepare your Powers of Attorney and medical treatment decision maker documents
• Ensure you have a valid binding death benefit nomination for any superannuation and life insurance

Contact us today to find out more about how we can help you with your estate planning needs during the COVID-19 pandemic. We are ready to help as soon as you need us.

This article was written by Family and Wills & Estate lawyer, Hayley Najim.

DISCLAIMER: We accept no responsibility for any action taken after reading this article. It is intended as a guide only and is not a substitute for the expert legal advice you can get from marshalls+dent+wilmoth and other relevant experts.