Szabo & Associates News & Updates

An Enduring Power of Attorney ensures that there is someone who can deal with your legal and financial affairs if you are unable to do so (see our article Do I really need an Enduring Power of Attorney?). However, it does not authorise someone else to make personal or lifestyle decisions for you. These may include where you live and what medical treatment you have in the future. In this article, we will outline the importance of the complementary role of an Enduring Guardian as part of your long-term planning.

Making a Will is an essential part of any estate plan. While it is true that a Will can be challenged this is actually a relatively small percentage. This should not put you off from making a Will. Instead, it is an encouragement to make a better Will, prepared by a specialist lawyer, giving a high probability of successfully carrying out your wishes. It should be remembered too, that if you die without a valid Will, the estate will be distributed according to legislation that may lead to unintended outcomes.

It can be difficult to put matters into perspective when someone asks “do I really need an Enduring Power of Attorney?”  It can be considered akin to insurance. Without an Enduring Power of Attorney in place the risk is that you never become ill suddenly, suffer a stroke, or heart attack, or not realise before it is too late that you are losing the mental capacity to self-manage.

Estate planning is the process of arranging your affairs in a way that suits your needs now, protects you if ever mental capacity is lost, and ensures that assets are passed to your intended beneficiaries.

The intention when making a Will is obviously to make a valid Will expressing the intentions as to how a deceased's estate is to be dealt with. To be valid, certain legal formalities must be followed.