Your Will is confidential. It is entirely a matter for you where it is kept so it is safe and can be located. There is no Government register of Wills made in Queensland. It is not uncommon for a person to pass away and for their original Will to be missing but for a...Read More
When helping clients prepare Wills, it is common to receive these instructions ‘Everything goes to my spouse and then to the kids equally”. The surviving spouse often ends up with the jointly owned assets and superannuation too. When the surviving spouse passes away,...Read More
As of 1 January 2023, an eligible person could choose to end their life under newly introduced Voluntary Assisted Dying (“VAD”) laws in Queensland. A recent Government report revealed, in the first six months of operation of the laws: 591 people (comprising 331 males...Read More
The fear of missing out on a deal and concerns about ‘timing’ the market may result in a Seller rushing to sign a Contract without considering the consequences. The right of a Buyer to change their mind and terminate a Contract under the Cooling Off...Read More
To battle the rise in cost of living, interest when you separate rates and property prices, we are seeing an increase in parents, siblings and friends pooling their funds together to purchase their dream home. Sounds like a perfect solution on face value. It is...Read More
One of the various roles of an Executor is to make sure that all estate debts are paid. In particular, an Executor needs to make sure any tax liability of the deceased during their lifetime or of their estate is accounted for. Keeping records of everything that might...Read More
We look at whether you need an ATO Clearance Certificate when selling property. The answer is yes, if: you are selling real estate over $750,000; and you don’t want 12.5% of the sale price to be paid to the ATO. The ATO requires the Certificate to be obtained before...Read More
If you are appointed as the executor of an estate, you have a number of duties cast upon you. They include: maximising the size of the estate for the beneficiaries; and preparing any necessary tax return or obtaining Income Tax Clearances. Estate administration...Read More
The preparation of your estate plan involves a number of matters, especially the payment of your superannuation death benefit. From 1 July 2017 a “Transfer Balance Cap” was introduced. In broad terms, the effect of the Cap is to limit the total amount of...Read More
I often write about the importance of having a valid Will. You might have been as surprised as I was to learn that Aretha Franklin, “the Queen of Soul”, died without a formal Will. By not making a formal Will, the famous singer sparked more than four years of bitter...Read More
