Wills and Estate Lawyers Sunshine Coast

Our Sunshine Coast Wills and Estates legal services include:

• Writing a Will
• Enduring powers of attorney
• Estate planning
• Estate administration
• Advance health directives
• Family provision claim
• Estate litigation and Will disputes

Wills and Estates law can be complicated and stressful so having the right legal advice and support is important to ensure you receive the best possible outcome.

By making a Will, you are protecting your loved ones’ interests and will free them of unnecessary worries at a time of distress and bereavement. Once you have a valid Will, you can have peace of mind knowing that your wishes concerning your estate have been legally and clearly recorded and will be followed. You will also save your family from the emotional distress of dealing with an intestacy and reduce the chances of estate disputes.

Why is a Will so important?

As well as ensuring you have received comprehensive advice regarding your estate and succession planning needs, it is imperative that your Will and Estate Planning documents are drafted correctly. If your Will has not been drafted correctly and contains errors or has been drafted based on poor legal advice or because you have elected to prepare the Will yourself without seeking legal advice at all, your Will may not be effective upon your death.

What happens if I die without a Will?

If you die without making a Will it means you will have died “intestate.” In an Intestate Estate, the Estate will be distributed in accordance with the laws of intestacy. The Succession Act and the Uniform Civil Procedure Rules determine who can act to administer your Estate and also how your estate is to be distributed. These Rules will not take into consideration your wishes, so it’s important you have a Will in place.

An Enduring Power of Attorney (EPA) is an important legal document in which you nominate one or more individuals that you trust to manage your affairs in the event you are unable to do so yourself.

Loss of mental capacity as a result of an injury or illness can affect anyone, often without warning. Being proactive in appointing attorneys may save you and your family unnecessary anguish and certainty about how decisions are to be made. An EPA provides you with the opportunity to decide who your attorneys will be, what powers they will have and when those powers will commence.

Effective estate planning means your assets are distributed in accordance with your final wishes.

A good estate plan will:

• minimise the risk of disputes between beneficiaries
• make adequate provision for loved ones and others you intend to benefit
• include contingencies to protect your interests in the event that you lose capacity, whether temporary or otherwise.

Without an effective estate plan, decisions regarding your estate will be left in someone else’s hands.

Estate Administration is usually undertaken by an executor who is a person appointed in the deceased’s Will or when there is no Will by an administrator. The executor may need to apply for a Grant of Probate which is the Court’s official recognition that the Will is legally valid, and the executor is authorised to deal with the estate.

Advanced Health Directives are legal documents that lay out what you would like to happen in the event that you are unable to make decisions for yourself regarding your health. They can include your wishes regarding medical treatment, aged care options and palliative care, should you be diagnosed with a terminal or incurable medical condition.

What is Probate?

Probate is official recognition from the Supreme Court of Queensland that your Will is legally valid. It isn’t always a requirement of estate administration, but it is often required before you can proceed with estate matters or with distributing assets from a deceased estate. It is a good idea to have a Sunshine Coast estate lawyer that can assist you with making probate applications as they can be a complicated process.

What are Letters of Administration?

Letters of administration are required when a person has died without a Will. A family member can apply to the Supreme Court of Queensland to be appointed as the Administrator to execute the deceased estates Will. The Letters of Administration give the Administrator the legal right to look after the deceased’s estate assets and distribute them to the right beneficiaries.

It is highly recommended you seek the help of a qualified estate lawyer to assist you with applying for Letters if Administration.

A person is able to draft the terms of their Will as they please but that doesn’t mean others can’t dispute it. Queensland law allows family members or dependants who suffer hardship because they have been overlooked or were not adequately provided for in a will, to challenge or dispute a Will.

Our Sunshine Coast estate lawyers can assist clients with both contesting a Will and defending a Will.

Our Wills and Estate lawyers have the knowledge and expertise to help you with every aspect of estate law, from drafting a Will, Powers of Attorney, applying for Grant of Probate, Advance Health Directives and Testamentary Trusts, in accordance with your wishes and explain the legal implications of your wishes without the legal mumbo jumbo.

We can also help the executor of your Will in their duty of administering your Estate plan.