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Resources / Estate Planning

Estate planning that goes beyond wealth.

A practical guide to the documents, decisions and people that shape what your family carries forward. Built for families and business owners thinking past the next decade.

Reading time
About 10 minutes Best for
Families and Business Owners Use this guide to
Frame your conversations with your advisers
Why this matters

More than a Will. A plan for what comes next.

Estate planning is often reduced to a single document. In reality it is the careful positioning of ownership, control, roles and intent so that whatever happens next, the family is held together rather than pulled apart.

For families and business owners with assets across personal names, family trusts, companies and superannuation, the plan has to operate across all of them at once. The Will is one instrument. The wider plan is the whole orchestra.

Every family is different, but each requires a clear and structured approach to estate planning.
The framework

Eight pillars we test every plan against.

Before a single document is drafted, we work through eight context themes that shape every meaningful estate planning conversation. Tap any pillar to expand it.

Asset architecture

Estate vs Non-Estate Assets.

Not every asset you control passes through your Will. The first job of an estate plan is to know which assets are which. Click a card to see worked examples.

Estate Assets

Assets held in your personal name.

These pass under your Will. The estate planning conversation is about succession of ownership.

  • Family home owned in your sole name
  • Personal bank accounts and term deposits
  • Shares and managed funds held individually
  • Cars, art, jewellery and personal effects
See an example
Worked example

A simple personal portfolio.

Sarah owns her home and a share portfolio in her sole name. Both sit in her estate. When she passes, her Will directs the executor to transfer them according to its terms. These choices live or die in the Will itself.

The action: make sure the Will reflects current intent for each estate asset and the executors are willing and able to act.

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Non-Estate Assets

Assets held in structures.

These do not pass under your Will. They are governed by the rules of the structures that hold them. The conversation is about succession of control.

  • Assets inside a family trust
  • Assets owned by a private company
  • Superannuation balances (death benefit nominations)
  • Life insurance proceeds with nominated beneficiaries
See an example
Worked example

A family with a trust and a super balance.

The Patel family trust owns an investment property. The trust deed names Mum as the appointor with power to choose the next trustee. Dad has $1.4m in super with a binding nomination to his spouse. Neither asset is touched by either Will.

The action: align the deed, the nomination and the corporate appointor with the family's intent.

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Types of Wills

A Basic Will moves wealth. A Testamentary Trust Will holds and protects it.

The right kind of Will depends on what you own, who you are passing it to and how much flexibility the next generation needs. Compare the two side by side.

The straightforward path.

A Basic Will outlines how your assets should be distributed on your death. It appoints executors and names beneficiaries who receive the assets directly in their personal name.

  • Simple to draft and explain
  • Beneficiaries receive assets outright
  • Suits straightforward family situations and modest estates
  • No ongoing trustee structure to administer
Example. Tom leaves his home and a share portfolio worth $1.8m to his two adult children equally. The executor sells the home, divides the proceeds and each child receives their share in their own name. From that day forward the inheritance is treated like any other personal asset.
Flow
1

Will-maker

You as the initial controller.

2

Executor

Administers the estate, pays debts, distributes per the Will.

3

Beneficiaries

Receive assets transferred into their personal name.

An inheritance held inside a structure.

A Testamentary Trust Will creates one or more trusts on your death. Rather than handing assets directly to beneficiaries, the assets are managed by a trustee and distributed according to the rules of the trust. Beneficiaries can also act as appointors with the power to replace the trustee.

  • Built-in asset protection from creditors and relationship breakdown
  • Significant tax planning flexibility, including for minors
  • Trustees can hold capital back when a beneficiary is at risk
  • Suited to higher-value estates and blended or complex families
Example. The same $1.8m estate is held inside two testamentary trusts, one for each child. Each child is both primary beneficiary and appointor. When one child later separates from their partner, the trust's assets are typically not part of the divisible matrimonial pool. Income can also be streamed to the children's own kids, who access the full adult tax-free threshold even as minors.
Flow
1

Will-maker

You as the initial controller.

2

Testamentary Trust

Created on death. Holds the inheritance.

3

Trustee & Appointor

Trustee manages and distributes. Appointor can replace the trustee.

4

Beneficiaries

Receive income and capital from the trust over time.

Why Testamentary Trusts

Four advantages worth weighing up.

Testamentary trusts are not for everyone. When they fit, they deliver real, measurable benefits to the next generation. Tap each card to expand the detail and see an example.

Asset Protection

Shields inheritances from creditors, bankruptcy and relationship breakdown.

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Because the trust owns the assets rather than the beneficiary owning them personally, the inheritance generally sits outside the beneficiary's own legal claims. That protection extends to creditor claims, bankruptcy proceedings and the asset pool in a relationship breakdown.

Example. A beneficiary's marriage breaks down five years after inheriting through a testamentary trust. Because the trust holds the assets, the inheritance is generally treated as a separate financial resource rather than divisible matrimonial property.

Tax Efficiency

Income splitting plus adult tax-free thresholds for minor beneficiaries.

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Income from a testamentary trust can be streamed across the wider beneficiary group, including children and grandchildren. Distributions to minors are taxed at adult marginal rates rather than the punitive minors' rates that apply outside the trust.

Example. $40,000 of trust income is split across three grandchildren under 18. Each child accesses the full adult tax-free threshold, materially reducing the family's total tax bill compared with the same income distributed outside the trust.

Control & Flexibility

Trustees can adjust distributions as needs and circumstances change.

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A trustee can release capital when it is useful and hold it back when it is not. That flexibility lets the inheritance respond to life events without rewriting the plan.

Example. One beneficiary is going through a business failure. The trustee chooses to hold the capital and stream only modest income for two years. Once the storm has passed, normal distributions resume.

Support for Vulnerable Beneficiaries

Structure and oversight for minors and beneficiaries with vulnerabilities.

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For a beneficiary with a disability, an addiction, or any circumstance that calls for external oversight, the trust provides a structure where someone else makes the distribution decisions in line with the will-maker's intent.

Example. A parent of a child with disability uses a Special Disability Trust framework alongside the testamentary trust. Income supports the child's ongoing care and Centrelink entitlements are preserved.
Asset protection

Build a wall between wealth and the things that erode it.

Asset protection is the practice of placing the right asset inside the right structure with the right people in control, so that a single setback does not put the whole family at risk.

Wealth to protect

What the family wants to carry forward.

  • Family business interests
  • Properties and the family home
  • Trust-held assets and portfolios
  • Superannuation balances
  • Inheritances earmarked for beneficiaries
  • Intellectual property and brand assets
  • Loan accounts and inter-entity receivables
  • Future income streams and royalties

Threats to manage

What the plan is designed to absorb.

  • Family breakdowns or divorce
  • Disputes between beneficiaries
  • Claims against the estate
  • Lack of clarity around control and roles
  • Insolvency or financial failure
  • Unintended tax consequences
  • Loss of capacity
  • Litigation or creditor claims

A well-structured plan does not just transfer wealth. It safeguards it for future generations.

Trusted people

The plan only works if the right people are in the right roles.

Estate planning is as much about people as it is about documents. Four core roles do most of the work. Tap each to explore what the role does and where families typically get stuck.

01

Executors

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  • Administer the estate in accordance with the Will
  • Apply for probate and deal with the courts
  • Collect assets, pay debts and distribute inheritances
  • Maintain estate records and report to beneficiaries
Example. After Mum passes, her executor (her sister) applies for probate, sells the holiday house, pays out a small business loan and distributes the residue to the three adult children per the Will.
02

Trustees and Appointors

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  • Manage trusts for beneficiaries
  • Invest and distribute trust assets in line with the deed
  • Ensure compliance with legal and tax obligations
  • Appointors hold the power to replace the trustee if needed
Example. A testamentary trust names the surviving spouse as trustee and the eldest child as appointor. Years later the family decides a professional trustee is a better fit and the appointor calmly puts the change in writing.
03

Powers of Attorney

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  • Act on behalf of a person during their lifetime
  • Manage banking, property and investment decisions
  • Make health and lifestyle decisions if capacity is lost
  • Must always act in the best interests of the person
Example. When Dad's dementia progressed, his enduring Power of Attorney let his son operate the family bank accounts and pay the aged-care bond without applying to the tribunal for guardianship.
04

Legal Guardians

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  • Care for minor children if parents pass away or cannot act
  • Make decisions about education, health and upbringing
  • Usually appointed through the Will for clarity and certainty
  • Always act in the child's best interests
Example. Both parents pass while the children are still in primary school. The Will appoints Mum's sister as legal guardian and a separate financial trustee manages the inheritance for the children's education and welfare.
Our strategic framework

Four steps that turn intent into action.

Every family is different but each requires a clear and structured approach. This is the framework we run inside every engagement.

1

Identify key scenarios

Map the situations the plan needs to handle.

Example. Dad to pass, Mum to pass, both to pass together, loss of capacity, breakdown of a child's relationship.
2

Strategise outcomes

For each scenario, define who benefits, who cares for dependants and who controls the family entities.

Example. If Mum passes first, control of the family trust shifts to the eldest child as appointor while Dad continues as trustee.
3

Document directions

Capture every decision in a comprehensive Estate Planning Brief that becomes the instruction set for the lawyers.

Example. The Brief covers Wills, Powers of Attorney, deeds, nominations and the people behind each role.
4

Manage implementation

Project-manage the drafting, signing and lodgement with our preferred legal teams or your existing lawyers.

Example. We coordinate the lawyer, accountant and super trustee so every document and nomination lines up.
Our approach

Seven stages, one calm process.

Our approach is built around collaboration. We guide clients and their advisory teams through a defined framework so every decision is aligned with the family's values and future direction. Click any stage to see what happens at that point.

Next step

Ready to talk through your family's plan?

Every engagement begins with a conversation. We will help you frame the scenarios that matter and bring the right team to the table.

Book a conversation