Wills and Estates Lawyers Adelaide

Our Adelaide Wills and Estates services include:

• Writing a Will
• Enduring powers of attorney
• Estate planning needs
• Testamentary trusts
• Estate administration
• Advance care directives
• Family provision claim
• Estate litigation and Will disputes

Turner Freeman’s specialist Wills and estate lawyers in Adelaide help our clients navigate the complexities of estate law in South Australia. They offer practical legal advice and have expertise in all areas of estate and succession planning needs.

It doesn’t matter how many assets you have or what your circumstances are, everyone should have a valid, legally binding Will in place that clearly states your wishes upon your death.

Not only will this save your family time, money and stress, it also reduces the chances of a Will dispute occurring.

Why is a Will so important?

A Will gives you the opportunity to specify exactly what you want to happen to your assets upon the end of your life. This includes declaring who is to receive certain assets and inheritance, and how much they are to receive. Having a valid Will to turn to gives your family members explicit instructions to follow, making it simple for them to fulfil your wishes. Writing your Will with one of our specialist Will lawyers in Adelaide will ensure your Will is legally valid.

What will happens if I pass away with no Will?

A deceased person without a valid Will is referred to as having died “intestate.” When an estate is Intestate it has to be distributed according to the laws of Intestate and the Succession Act. These laws will not take your wishes into account could result in your assets being distributed to people that you didn’t want them to. To avoid this happening it is in your best interests to seek practical advice from a Wills lawyer and create a valid Will.

An Enduring Power of Attorney (EPOA)is a legal document that gives you the ability to pick one or two trusted persons to make financial and legal decisions on your behalf if you lose the ability to do so for yourself. In addition to nominating who you would like to act for you you can also set specific conditions on when and how they can act for you. Your Enduring Power of Attorney should be someone you can trust to act in your best interests.

Your Enduring Power of Attorney will be able to help you in lots of ways including:

• accessing your bank accounts
• paying your bills and dealing with service providers
• signing contracts and agreements on your behalf
• dealing with government agencies such as Medicare.

Your estate plan allows you to lay out exactly how you want your assets to be distributed. Having a carefully considered and clearly laid out estate plan will minimise the legal costs and chances of a dispute between your beneficiaries. It also allows to set conditions to protect your assets in the event that you or one of your beneficiaries loses capacity. Our estate planning lawyers in Adelaide can help with all of your estate planning needs.

Upon a person’s death they normally leave behind assets, debts and outstanding matters that need to be handled. The process of handling these matters is called estate administration. In your Will you will name who you would like to administer your estate, this person is called your Executor.

Your Executor will be responsible for paying any outstanding debts and distributing your assets according to your Will. To do so, they will need to get a Grant of Probate.

An Advance Care Directive is a legal document that lets you record your plans in the event that you are no longer able to make healthcare decisions for yourself. If you have specific wishes for your medical treatment if you are in a vegetative state or diagnosed with a terminal medical condition, your Advance Care Directives allow you to direct what you would like to happen.

What is a Grant of Probate?

The Executor of a deceased’s estate is often required to acquire a Grant of Probate upon the deceased’s passing. Probate is the official recognition from the Supreme Court of South Australia that the Will is legally valid and up to date. While it’s not a requirement that you seek a lawyer to obtain probate, it is much easier to do so with assistance from a law firm.

What are Letters of Administration?

If a deceased estate does not have a valid Will then the family of that estate will be required to obtain Letters of Administration. A family member can apply to the Supreme Court of South Australia to be designated as the Administrator of the estate and they will then be able to deal with the deceased’s estate. Obtaining the Letters of Administration for an estate can be a complex matter so its best you seek the legal services of specialist estates lawyers in Adelaide.

Despite a Will being in place sometimes people still choose to contest a will if they feel they have been unfairly left out of a Will, or not received a fair share of an estate. If a Will has not been created with the help of a lawyer sometimes people will question the validity of a Will and can dispute it.

Working with qualified estates lawyers to ensure your Will is legally valid and clearly outlines your intentions can reduce the chances of this happening. If someone does try to challenge your Will we have lots of experienced with contested Wills.

Our estate lawyers in Adelaide have the expertise and experience to assist our clients with all aspects of their estate, whether it is writing a Will, establishing testamentary trusts or helping an Executor distribute the assets to beneficiaries.

We also understand that dealing with estate law often comes during difficult circumstances for our clients so we handle all matters with care and compassion.