Wills and Trust

Auslaw Partners with expert estate lawyers, from the drawing of a simple will, advising as to your estate planning needs, to assisting you to resolve complex will disputes. Our team of highly qualified and experienced lawyers are experts in addressing all of your inheritance law needs. We are here to help, providing peace of mind through a comprehensive Inheritance Law service.

Our team is skilled in preparing wills in both simple and complex estates.

We ensure, as much as the law allows, that your wishes are expressed in a robust legal framework and that strategies are employed to protect your family from unnecessary financial or legal problems.

Close attention is paid to areas such as the guardianship of your children and choosing an enduring attorney.

Professional administration of your estate is essential, particularly in these times of increased litigation and contesting of wills.

Our experienced team of estate lawyers will ensure that the management of your estate is undertaken efficiently and effectively so that it will be clearly and easily understood by everyone involved.

We provide personalised service and explain things in plain language so our valuable clients never feel overwhelmed as they deal with the loss of a loved one.

Our team of estate dispute lawyers can help you with family provision applications, general claims against deceased estates, disputes over the validity of wills and mediations over associated disputes.

Our approach is to firstly undertake a detailed investigation of the matter to ensure that we are fully informed and on a sound foundation prior to advising you. With this knowledge, we can offer you an objective view of the strengths and weaknesses of your case.

While always looking at the possibility of an out-of-court settlement, we will progress the matter to a court determination if necessary.

Our Estate Planning and Estate Administration team has extensive experience and commercial acumen in assisting our clients with respect to planning and management of their assets and wealth.

We take the time to understand your objectives and circumstances and tailor a solution for your needs. It is worth planning strategies and structures to protect and plan the management of your assets, both during your life and after your death.

Our team can assist you with:

• • advice on business and family succession structures
  • preparation of simple and complex Wills and trust arrangements
  • estate planning advice and structures
  • management of family disputes and contested Wills
  • Powers of Attorney and other structures to assist flexibility with your personal and business affairs
  • estate administration, Probate and Letters of Administration
  • restructuring

At Auslaw Partners, we understand that each client is unique and provide tailored solutions for your estate now and in the future.

Many people are reluctant to think about making a Will as death is not a pleasant topic to consider, however making a Will or thinking about your estate is important to complete while you have the time and capacity to do so. Often we see people leaving arrangements too late after they have lost capacity or when they may feel under some form of pressure to make arrangements. Our team has extensive experience and expertise and can guide our clients through the preparation of Wills, Powers of Attorney and Estate Plans.

At Auslaw Partners, we understand the emotions and complexities around Wills and estates, and can help take the pain out of implementing your estate planning. We’ll work with you to fully understand your personal and financial situation and in conjunction with your wishes, will tailor a solution that meets your needs and objectives.

As well as drafting your Will, our experienced lawyers can review family trusts or business structures, implement shareholder agreements or testamentary discretionary trusts, or simply prepare an Enduring Power of Attorney.

We can help you with:

• • simple Wills through to complex Wills which incorporate testamentary trusts or charitable foundations
  • asset protection strategies
  • business and personal succession planning
  • family discretionary trusts
  • superannuation succession planning

If you are the executor of a Will or administrator of an estate, you might need help in the administration of that estate. We can provide you with advice and guidance, or alternatively we can manage the entire administration process for you, no matter how complex.

Our experienced and respected lawyers can help you with managing the most simple to complex estates. When beneficiaries or assets are overseas and subject to other countries’ laws our international network ensures we can assist you.

We can help you with:

• • dealing with disgruntled or difficult beneficiaries
  • defending claims against the estate
  • securing estate assets
  • recovering debts owed to the estate
  • preparing administration accounts and records
  • foreign assets and beneficiaries
  • executor’s commission
  • tax-related matters
  • preparing distribution statements for beneficiaries
  • complying with statutory duties
  • transfer or sale of real and personal property
  • preparing deeds of family arrangement

Auslaw Partners Lawyers has extensive experience in managing and resolving trust disputes. In some cases, we deal with disputes at the time the trust is being set up when the beneficiaries are involved. Other disputes arise during the administration of the trust.

Further complexity can arise when there are international facets to the situation, such as assets or beneficiaries residing in a different country.

We can help you or your beneficiaries resolve your disputes and help you achieve the outcome you want.

We can help you with:

• • trust formation and advice
  • trustees’ powers
  • breaches of trustees’ duties
  • beneficiary rights and entitlements
  • appointment and removal of trustees

At Auslaw Partner, we can help you resolve your Will dispute by representing your interests and sorting out even the most complex of situations.

Whether you are contesting a Will, challenging a Will, questioning the validity of a Will or removing an executor, we have the experience you need to work through the many aspects of the dispute.

In an ever-shrinking world, this can mean working with international partners and experts to get the information and actions you need to achieve the result you want. We will minimise the stress and work hard to get an outcome as quickly as possible, in the most cost-effective manner.

We can help you with:

• • disputes of/and contested Wills
  • validity of a Will
  • undue influence and improper conduct
  • breaches of executors’ duties
  • removal of executors
  • cy-près applications
  • interpretation of WIlls
  • informal Wills

Disclaimer: the materials presented on this website are distributed by Auslaw Partners as an information source only. Auslaw Partners make no statements, representations, or warranties about the accuracy or completeness of, and you should not rely on, any information contained in this publication. Despite our best efforts, Auslaw Partners makes no warranties that the information in this publication is free of infection by computer viruses or other contamination. Auslaw Partners disclaim all responsibility and all liability (including without limitation, liability in negligence) for all expenses, losses, damages and costs you might incur as a result of the information being inaccurate or incomplete in any way, and for any reason.