Wills and estate planning in Perth

What to consider

• Who should act and whether substitutes are needed.
• Whether decision-makers should act jointly or separately.
• Family, business and overseas-asset circumstances.
• Assets not automatically controlled by a will.
• Correct signing, witnessing and safe storage.
• Review after major life and asset changes.

How much does a will cost in Perth? Simple versus complex estate plans

Cost depends on the advice and documents required, not on a single fixed product. A simple will for one person is a different scope of work from a couple's plan, a testamentary trust, business-succession provisions, advice about jointly owned property, superannuation nominations or enduring documents. Any package we quote states its approved inclusions and exclusions.

• Simple will - suited to a single, straightforward estate with clear beneficiaries and no trust or business complexity.
• Couple estate plan - coordinates two wills, mirrored or complementary wishes, and often EPA and EPG documents for both partners.
• Testamentary trust will - adds a trust structure that takes effect after death, commonly for asset-protection or particular-beneficiary reasons; more complex to prepare and administer.
• Business-owner estate plan - coordinates personal estate planning with business succession, and company or trust interests, and, where relevant, a buy-sell or succession agreement.

A will, EPA, EPG and Advance Health Directive control different things

These are four separate documents, not variations of the same form. Each operates in a different period of life, or after death, and understanding what each one does — and does not — cover helps avoid gaps in an estate plan.

• Will - controls how your assets, other than jointly held or nominated assets, are distributed after your death, and appoints your executor; it has no legal effect and does not operate while you are alive.
• Enduring power of attorney (EPA) - controls financial and property decisions during your lifetime. It can be made to operate immediately, or only after the State Administrative Tribunal declares that you have lost legal capacity - in Western Australia a delayed EPA does not simply commence by itself when capacity is lost. It ends on death and does not extend to personal, lifestyle or medical decisions.
• Enduring power of guardianship (EPG) - controls personal, lifestyle and treatment decisions during your lifetime if you lose capacity, made by your enduring guardian within the authority you grant; it does not extend to financial or property decisions and ends on death.
• Advance health directive (AHD) - lets you record your own decisions about future medical treatment in advance, to apply if you later cannot make or communicate them; it is not the same as appointing a decision-maker, and it does not deal with finances, property or general lifestyle matters outside health treatment.
• Because none of these documents duplicates another, most people benefit from considering all four together as part of a coordinated estate plan, rather than treating a will as sufficient on its own.

Testamentary trusts

A testamentary trust is a trust created by a will that comes into existence after death, rather than during life. Assets left to a beneficiary can be held in the trust instead of being paid to them outright. Depending on how it is structured, a testamentary trust may help protect assets for a beneficiary who is a minor, has a disability, or is vulnerable to relationship breakdown or creditor claims, or give a family flexibility in how income is distributed among beneficiaries for tax and asset-protection purposes. A testamentary trust adds complexity - it usually requires a trustee to be appointed, clear terms for how and when the trust ends, and ongoing administration and accounting obligations after death. Whether a testamentary trust is appropriate depends on the family, assets and beneficiaries involved, and should be discussed as part of an estate-planning consultation rather than adopted as a default.

Business and trust interests

Where a client owns a company, a share in a business, or an interest in a family or unit trust, a will alone may not be enough to deal with how that interest passes or who can control it. Company constitutions, shareholder or partnership agreements, and trust deeds can each contain their own rules about transfer, sale or control on death or incapacity, and these need to be checked and coordinated with the will, EPA and any succession or buy-sell agreement.

• Business Succession Planning in WA: Ownership, Control and Continuity →

Superannuation and your estate plan

Superannuation, including any death benefit, is usually not automatically dealt with by a will - it is generally paid according to the trustee's discretion, a valid death-benefit nomination, or the fund's own rules, depending on the type of nomination made. Confirming, and where appropriate updating, a death-benefit nomination is a common and important part of coordinating superannuation with the rest of an estate plan.

Blended families

Blended families - where one or both partners have children from an earlier relationship - raise particular estate-planning questions: balancing provision for a current partner with provision for children from an earlier relationship, the risk of a family provision claim, and whether a testamentary trust or other structure can help meet competing needs. These situations often benefit from tailored advice rather than a standard will template.

Signing, witnessing and storage

A will, EPA and EPG each have their own signing and witnessing requirements under Western Australian law, and getting them wrong can make a document ineffective when it is needed most. Store original signed documents safely, tell your executor, attorney and guardian where to find them, and keep a note of any safe-custody arrangement.

When to review your estate plan

An estate plan is not a one-off task. Review it after marriage, divorce or separation, the birth of a child or grandchild, a significant change in assets or a business interest, the death or incapacity of an executor, attorney or guardian, a move interstate or overseas, or simply after several years have passed.

• When Should You Update Your Will and Enduring Documents in WA? →