Wills and Estates Lawyers Newcastle

Dealing with the death of a loved one can be a difficult time. Working with a compassionate and knowledgeable Wills and estate lawyer in Newcastle can ease the burden.

Our estate lawyers in Newcastle have extensive experience with:

• Writing a Will
• Creating estate planning documents
• Enduring power of attorney and enduring guardianship
• Estate administration
• Advance health directives
• Will litigation and estate disputes
• Testamentary trusts

Your Will is an important document so working with a specialist Wills and estate lawyer is important to ensure that your Will is an up-to-date, legally valid Will. This will decrease the chances of a dispute occurring over your Will and save your friends or family members money, stress and time.

Why do I need a Will?

Your Will outlines what is to happen to your assets in the event of your death. It covers everything from funeral arrangements to which of your beneficiaries should receive certain assets. Have an up-to-date, legally valid Will ensures that your wishes will be followed after your passing.

What happens if I die without a Will?

When a deceased person does not leave a valid Will behind they are considered to have died intestate. In these situations a deceased estate must be dispensed in accordance with the laws of intestacy. When this happens your wishes will not be regarded and you will not have any control over who received what assets. This is why it is so important to have a legally valid Will in place.

In some cases you will need to develop a plan for you estate to support your Will. Our Newcastle estate planning lawyers can help you with:

• forming an account of your personal assets such as superannuation funds, bank accounts and family trusts
• appointing a person to act as your decision maker (power of attorney)
• stating which assets go to specific beneficiaries (can be people or organisations)
• creating further provision in case a beneficiary has any special needs or future legal problems

When you name your Enduring power of attorney you are naming the person who will be responsible for your financial and legal affairs if you are no longer capable of doing so yourself. Often this person is a family member or close friend, someone you trust to act in your best interests and that you know has the capability to manage your affairs.

Advance Health Directives are the legal documents that lay out your decisions for any healthcare decisions that need to be made in the future if you lose the capacity to do so for yourself. This includes what medical treatment you wish to occur should you be diagnosed with a terminal or incurable disease.

When you create your Will you will name the person/s that you want to manage your estate. This person is called the executor of your Will and the process of managing your estate is called “administering” your Will. The process of managing deceased estates can be time consuming and complicated, so it can be beneficial for an executor to work with a law firm to complete their duties.

Roles and duties of an executor

The duties of an executor will depend on the state of the deceased’s estate. This might involve gathering any outstanding assets, paying off any debts or taxes, organising the sale of shares or property, collating bank accounts, and ensuring assets are distributed to the intended beneficiaries.

What is Probate?

A Grant of Probate is the legal process of getting a Will to be deemed legally valid by the Supreme Court of New South Wales. Although not always a requirement of the estate administration process, it is frequently a requirement and can be a complex process. We recommend working with an estate lawyer to expedite the process.

What are Letters of Administration?

Letters of Administration are one of the legal requirements when an estate is deemed as “dying intestate.” It requires the eligible person who wishes to be the estates executor to apply to the Supreme court of New South Wales for the Letters of Administration, which will legally allow them to handle the deceased estate. It is recommended that you seek legal help with this process.

In addition to offering Wills and estate creation and management services, our lawyers are also experienced with Will disputes and offer estate litigation services.

There are a number of circumstances in which a person can challenge or dispute a Will if they feel they have been unfairly treated by a Will. It’s crucial you seek legal advice in a timely manner, as there are time limits as to when a Will can be contested.

Enduring Guardianship

An enduring guardian is the person who will look after and make decisions regarding your future health and wellbeing if you lose the capacity to make these decisions for yourself. In addition to appointing this person you can create a legal document that explains your intentions for your guardian so they can follow your wishes on decisions such as living arrangements and healthcare.

Our estate lawyers handle all aspects of estate law, from estate planning documents through to Will litigation. We handle all our cases with compassion and expertise, and having been working with Wills and estate laws for more then 70 years. Contact our team to have one of our Newcastle Wills estates lawyers assist you today.