Will & Legal Structures
About AET…
Australian Executor Trustees is one of Australia’s largest and most experienced providers of trustee services. In fact, we have been providing trustee services to Australians since 1880.
AET currently has over $3 billion of assets under management and specialises in the management of individual client portfolios.
We are licensed to operate as a statutory trustee company in every mainland State and Territory and have offices in Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Perth and Mount Gambier.
We employ over 300 staff Australia wide including over 12 inheritance planning lawyers nationally. There are two full time senior inheritance planners in Brisbane – Mark Robinson and Jennifer Wilson.
Mark Robinson is a Senior Estate Planner and Authorised Representative of Australian Executor Trustees. Mark is a solicitor admitted to practice in
Queensland and has qualifications in law and management.
Prior to joining Australian Executor Trustees in 2004, Mark worked with a number of leading Australian private banks providing specialist estate planning advice to high value clients.
Mark is a regular speaker on estate planning at conferences, technical sessions and professional development days.
Australian Executor Trustees manages the personal financial affairs of clients nationally, either in Trust, as agent under Power of Attorney or as manager of a protected estate.
Our Australian Financial Services Licence No is 240023.
Inheritance Planning in Australia…
Inheritance planning for Australian families is often poorly done and the importance underestimated.
The FBC experience is that well over 80% of its clients have NO will or enduring power of attorney.
Families with Young Children…
With much to protect, it would be expected that inheritance planning for families with young
children would have a high priority and be well serviced.
In reality, the planning for most young families is poor.
At best they might have a basic will, some superannuation and perhaps a little life insurance often inside their superannuation fund.
If there is no Will then any assets owned by deceased do not automatically pass to the surviving spouse where there are children.
The intestacy rules in each State vary but the general outcome is a statutory apportionment of the assets owned by the deceased between the survivor and the infant children, i.e. the survivor does not, in the absence of a will, have full control and ownership of the assets but has to share with infant children.
With a will all of the deceased’s assets now can be expected to pass to the survivor.
Even if there is adequate insurance, many wills are tax ineffective in that the deceased’s assets and insurance payout pass to the survivor personally.
Because the surviving spouse owns the capital they also own the income which will be taxed in their hands solely despite the fact that the income has to support 3 or 4 persons. A standard form of Will does not allow income splitting.
Planning for Retirees…
AET’s experience with retirees suggests that they are not well planned, however, very concerned that their wealth passes to their children:-
- in the most tax efficient manner
- in a way that maximizes protection for their children’s inheritance from creditors and relationship breakdowns
- in a manner that sees their hard earned wealth pass to their children and through their bloodline to the grandchildren and not to spouses; and
- that encourages investment of the inheritance rather than spending it.
AET provides the specialist advice and support so clients are well informed about the issues facing them and the potential strategies available and also puts the required documentation in place to implement these strategies.
With understanding and knowledge comes better decision-making and better inheritance outcomes.
The Process…
It is suggested that the process follow the following steps:-
- pre-meeting action by FBC
- scoping exercise
- recommendations
- asset protection
- document protection
- execution of documents
- secure storage
- feedback to FBC
