Why choose our wills and estate lawyers?
Are you concerned about protecting your assets and ensuring a smooth transition of your estate? Estate planning can be complex and overwhelming. Without proper guidance, you risk leaving your loved ones vulnerable to financial hardship and disputes.
The experts at Cooper Grace Ward provide commercially focused advice on estate planning, business succession, and asset protection matters.
Our Brisbane based estates team works alongside our tax, superannuation, and estate administration and disputes team to provide our clients and their advisers with the full range of expert advice they need.
Commercial and practical approach
Our philosophy is to work together with our clients and their accountants, financial planners, and other advisers to create a comprehensive estate planning strategy.
The role of an estate planning lawyer
An estate planning lawyer plays a vital role in helping individuals and families prepare for the future by managing their assets and ensuring their wishes are fulfilled after death.
The lawyer’s primary responsibility is to assist clients in creating comprehensive estate plans, which may include wills, trusts and powers of attorney. These legal documents help dictate how assets will be distributed, who will care for dependants, and who will make medical and financial decisions if the client becomes incapacitated.
Additionally, estate planning lawyers provide guidance on tax liabilities and probate, which can save time and money for beneficiaries. They also stay updated on changing laws and regulations, ensuring that estate plans remain compliant. By working closely with clients, estate planning lawyers offer peace of mind that loved ones will be cared for according to their client’s wishes.
How our wills and estate lawyers can assist you
Our wills and estate lawyers are dedicated to providing comprehensive assistance tailored to your individual needs, ensuring that your estate planning is both thorough and effective. With a deep understanding of the legal intricacies involved, our team offers expert guidance in drafting wills, establishing trust, and navigating the complexities of estate administration.
We work closely with you to ensure that your wishes are clearly articulated and legally sound, providing peace of mind that your assets will be managed and distributed according to your intentions.
We provide innovative, commercially focused advice and documentation, including:
- Wills with testamentary trusts
- Enduring Powers of Attorney
- Risk management advice and strategies to protect estate assets from potential disputes
- Strategies to minimise estate assets
- Succession of estate assets in blended families
- Protection for children with special needs
- Strategies to deal with superannuation assets in the event of death
- Succession planning for rural landholders
- Business succession and shareholder arrangements
- Strategies to transfer control of trustee and trading companies independently of a Will
- Use of generational and direct descendant trusts to ‘lock in’ control of a trust after death
- Trust planning strategies (for duty exemptions)
- Gift and loan back strategies to shift value out of clients’ estates to related trusts.
Further information
Estate planning FAQs
Cooper Grace Ward has collated the following list of estate planning FAQs. They are designed to assist you with some of the more common questions that arise in estate planning.
