Estate Planning

We feel that estate planning is a very important aspect of financial planning and that all Australians should have an estate plan in place to ensure their assets are managed according to their wishes. At Concord Private Wealth, we work with experts to provide advice and implement a range of services which can include;

• Setting up a Will, so that your assets go to their intended beneficiaries and so that no one can challenge your estate.
• Making Powers of Attorney.
• Protecting your assets for your children with Testamentary Trusts.
• Funding our Personal Succession Plan for an equal distribution of your estate.
• Help for your surviving spouse or children to obtain funds as quick as possible from your Super & Insurance.

All you need to do is let us know and we can recommend a qualified professional to help with your estate planning needs. We refer our clients to certain professional who we trust and provide great service to our customers. In addition to this, their advice quite often ties into our insurance and also superannuation advice too.

One last point – Please make sure you set up a Will via a qualified lawyer as a minimum. We can’t really emphasis this enough to spend a little bit of money to make sure this is right. A Will should last you a long time too. 

Insurance and your estate

From providing funds for dependants upon your death to ensuring the right people are looked after, insurance can play a critical role in your estate planning affairs. I can help determine what type/s of insurance you need to include in your estate plan. In the meantime, here are some ways insurance can play a part:

Provide funds for the surviving spouse and/or children

Including insurance in your estate plan can help ensure your family has enough funds to survive comfortably without you.

Equalise your estate     

You can use your insurance to ensure all your beneficiaries are treated fairly by equalising your estate. This is especially relevant for people who want to leave their business to one child but don’t want to disadvantage the others.

Protecting the second family

Statistics show that one third of Australian marriages involve at least one person who has been married before. Given this, the need to protect children from the first marriage as well as the spouse and children of second marriages is very pertinent. Effective structuring of insurance can ensure that the right people benefit from your estate and limit the possibility of your will being contested.

Direct beneficiary nominations

Many super funds allow you to complete a ‘binding nomination’ which enables you to direct your death benefit to the person you want to benefit. There are limitations around who you can nominate which I can explain to you. Without a binding nomination, the trustees have discretion as to how your death benefit is distributed.