Why You Need These 3 Documents
General Information
The person or people you appoint as your Executor, Attorney and / or Guardian should be trusted family members, close friends or professionals you have previously spoken to about the appointment.
Last Will & Testament
A Will appoints an Executor / Trustee to do the following:
- locate the Will
- collect your assets
- obtain a grant of Probate from the NSW Supreme Court
- pay any of your outstanding debts
- determining who the beneficiaries are and distributing the assets as set out in your Will
- preparing and managing accounts
- lodging taxation returns
- make funeral arrangements
If you need a more complex Will, which includes a Testamentary Trust to protect a beneficiary from the following, please contact us:
- Bankruptcy
- Marriage or relationship difficulties
- Taxation.
Enduring Power of Attorney
An Enduring Power of Attorney appoints a trusted person as your Attorney. That person will have the legal authority to deal with your financial affairs and assets as if they were you.
Your Attorney must agree:
- To always act in your best interests.
- To keep the Attorney’s money and property separate from your money and property.
- To keep reasonable accounts and records of your money and property.
- Not to gain a benefit from being an attorney.
- To act honestly in all matters concerning your legal and financial affairs.
You can appoint an attorney for a variety of circumstances such as:
- an extended interstate or overseas trip
- a time when you are no longer able to manage your own affairs.
If you agree, the appointment can remain valid even in the event you lose your ability to make decisions for yourself.
Appointment of an Enduring Guardian
Whilst an Enduring Power of Attorney relates to managing your financial affairs, appointing an Enduring Guardian allows your Guardian to make decisions about your lifestyle, health and medical decisions when you are not capable of doing this for yourself.
The Appointment only comes into effect when you lose the capacity to make decisions for yourself. The decisions a Guardian can make include:
- where you live
- the health care you receive
- the medical and dental treatments you undergo.
Your appointed Guardians must accept their appointment by signing the document in front of a solicitor.
The Process – Step by Step
1. You provide your instructions
2. We draft your documents and email you a copy to make sure they’re right.
3. When you are happy with them, you either attend our office to sign or we can arrange a signing via Zoom.
4. We email the relevant page to your Attorney(s) and Guardian(s) and organise for them to sign
5. Once all the documents are signed, we:
a. keep the originals in our Safe Custody Register – a free service.
b. send you an electronic copy of the signed documents [we recommend you provide electronic copies to your Executor, Attorney and Guardian letting them know that we hold the originals].
c. Send you our invoice for payment!