Tag: Wills and Estate Planning Lawyers

Table of Contents

1. Understanding the Purpose of a Will
2. Considering Family and Personal Circumstances
3. The Role of Wills Solicitors
4. Why Regular Reviews Are Important
5. Understanding Property and Business Interests
6. Keeping Important Records Organised
7. Reducing Potential Family Disputes
8. Conclusion

Understanding the Purpose of a Will

A will generally provides written instructions about how certain assets should be dealt with after a person’s death. However, not every asset is automatically controlled by this document. Some property and financial interests may be subject to separate ownership arrangements, beneficiary nominations, or other legal structures.

For example, jointly owned property may be transferred according to the type of ownership involved. Superannuation, insurance policies, trusts, and some business interests may also operate under different rules. Understanding these distinctions can help prevent assumptions that could result in an outcome different from what was intended.

Identifying Assets and Liabilities

A useful starting point is to create an overview of significant financial interests and obligations. This may include:

• Residential and investment property
• Savings accounts and investments
• Business interests
• Valuable personal belongings
• Insurance policies
• Superannuation
• Loans and outstanding debts

Knowing how each asset is legally owned can be just as important as knowing its financial value.

Considering Family and Personal Circumstances

Every family has different relationships, responsibilities, and priorities. Someone with young children may have different considerations from a person with adult children, while blended families and previous relationships can introduce additional complexity.

Dependants may require particular attention. Parents may need to consider who could take responsibility for children if circumstances require it. Selecting an appropriate person involves considering trust, reliability, availability, and practical capability.

Clear documentation can communicate personal intentions, although the appropriate approach depends on individual circumstances and relevant legal requirements.

The Role of Wills Solicitors

Once the basic considerations have been identified, Wills Solicitors can help explain legal requirements surrounding document preparation and execution. They can also help identify areas that may require further consideration based on family circumstances, property ownership, or financial interests.

Professional guidance can be especially useful where arrangements involve multiple assets, business ownership, blended families, or significant financial responsibilities. Understanding how particular circumstances affect documentation can help individuals avoid relying on assumptions or generic solutions.

Important Areas to Consider

Several practical matters may deserve attention:

• Selecting an appropriate executor
• Identifying beneficiaries clearly
• Reviewing property ownership
• Considering dependants
• Checking financial beneficiary nominations
• Addressing business interests
• Keeping important information organised
• Meeting applicable signing and witnessing requirements

Carefully addressing these areas can help make future administration clearer and more manageable.

Why Regular Reviews Are Important

Creating a document should not necessarily be considered a one-time activity. Personal and financial circumstances can change considerably over the years, and arrangements that were suitable in the past may no longer reflect current intentions.

Marriage, divorce, separation, the birth or adoption of a child, the death of a beneficiary, purchasing significant property, starting a business, or receiving an inheritance may all provide reasons to review existing arrangements.

A review does not automatically mean changes are required. Its purpose is to confirm that existing instructions remain appropriate and consistent with current circumstances.

Understanding Property and Business Interests

Property ownership can have an important impact on future arrangements. A person may own a family residence, investment property, commercial premises, or other real assets. However, the legal structure under which each property is held can influence how it may be transferred.

Business interests can introduce additional considerations. Company shares, partnerships, trusts, and other structures may involve specific arrangements that should be understood before decisions are made.

Business owners may also consider what could happen to their interests if they are unable to participate in management. Existing agreements between business partners may influence how ownership interests are handled.

Keeping Important Records Organised

Good preparation also involves keeping relevant information accessible. Property documents, financial statements, insurance records, business information, and important legal documents should be organised so they can be located when needed.

Appropriate family members or representatives may need to know where important documents are stored. A clear system can reduce delays and make administration easier during a difficult period.

It is also useful to review contact details and financial information periodically. Outdated records can make otherwise straightforward administrative responsibilities more complicated.

Reducing Potential Family Disputes

Clear instructions can help reduce uncertainty among family members. Although careful documentation cannot guarantee that disagreements will never occur, precise instructions can make personal intentions easier to understand.

Potential sources of confusion should be considered before documents are finalised. Beneficiaries should be identified appropriately, responsibilities should be assigned carefully, and property or financial arrangements should be reviewed for consistency.

Taking these steps can provide greater clarity for those who may eventually be responsible for managing the person’s affairs.

Conclusion

Table of Contents

1. What Actually Makes a Will Hold Up
2. The Real Cost of a DIY Will
3. What Estate Planning Actually Covers
4. When Your Will Stops Reflecting Your Life
5. Choosing the Right Wills Solicitors
6. Frequently Asked Questions 

What Actually Makes a Will Hold Up

Signing a document and having it witnessed isn’t enough on its own. In South Australia, a valid will requires testamentary capacity, meaning the person signing genuinely understood what they owned, who their family was, and what they were deciding. That sounds straightforward. In practice, it gets challenged more often than most families expect.

Family provision claims are also rising. Under South Australian law, eligible relatives, spouses, children, and, in some cases, other dependents can apply to the court for a greater share of the estate if they believe the will failed to provide for them adequately.

What experienced wills solicitors do is draft documents designed to withstand exactly that kind of scrutiny. One of the most common triggers for disputes is imprecise language. A clause like “my jewellery to be shared equally between my daughters” can become a three-month argument when one daughter interprets “equally” by item count and the other interprets it by value.

Good lawyers for wills close those gaps before they become courtroom problems.

The Real Cost of a DIY Will

Online will kits are cheap, fast, and genuinely tempting. They’re also behind a significant portion of the estate disputes that reach South Australian courts.

A common scenario: a man in his 60s uses an online kit, leaves everything to his children, then later remarries. He passed away not realising that, under South Australian law, remarriage had automatically revoked that will entirely. What follows is an expensive, avoidable mess.

DIY kits don’t flag that your superannuation sits entirely outside your estate. They don’t identify that a child with a disability may need a testamentary trust rather than a direct inheritance. They don’t check whether your named executor is still alive, still capable, or still the right person for the role years later.

Wills and estate planning lawyers do. That’s the difference: not just paperwork but considered advice from someone who knows what to look for, and one of the biggest things DIY wills miss is that a will is only one part of a broader estate plan. 

What Estate Planning Actually Covers

A will records who gets what. That’s the starting point, not the whole picture.

Superannuation is one of the most consistently overlooked areas. Your super fund pays out at the trustee’s discretion unless you have a valid, current, binding death benefit nomination in place. Those nominations expire. Many people have outdated ones sitting on file without realising it, and that money, often a substantial sum, can end up somewhere entirely unintended.

Beyond that, wills and estate planning lawyers consider the following:

• Testamentary trusts: Rather than handing a lump sum directly to a beneficiary, assets are held within a protective structure. This is particularly important for children with disabilities, young adults, or where an inheritance could be exposed in a future divorce
• Superannuation nominations: Reviewed and updated as part of a complete estate plan, not left to chance
• Company structures and family trusts: Assets held in these don’t pass through a will automatically. Assuming they do is a mistake that creates genuinely expensive problems
• Jointly held property: How assets are titled affects how they pass, and that’s worth understanding clearly before it becomes someone else’s problem to untangle

Even when an estate plan is drafted correctly, it isn’t something that can be forgotten about indefinitely. 

When Your Will Stops Reflecting Your Life

A will drafted in your 30s may be almost meaningless by your 50s, and not in ways that are immediately obvious.

In South Australia, marriage revokes a will entirely. Divorce does not. A former spouse may still be named as a beneficiary unless the document is updated. The executor appointed 20 years ago may have predeceased you. Children or grandchildren born since may not appear anywhere in the document.

Experienced lawyers for wills recommend reviewing your will every three to five years and after any significant life event:

• Marriage or divorce
• Birth of a child or grandchild
• The death of someone named in the will
• Significant change in assets or financial position

Reviews are rarely time-consuming. Often it’s a single meeting and a straightforward update. But leaving it creates a risk that falls entirely on the family left behind.

Choosing the Right Wills Solicitors

Not every firm that offers will drafting brings the same depth of thinking to it. The right will solicitors will ask about the full picture, family dynamics, asset structures, and potential pressure points, rather than handing over a template to complete.

Look for someone who explains options in plain English without unnecessary jargon. Someone who raises superannuation nominations without needing to be prompted. Someone who tells you honestly what your executor will actually need to do, and whether the person you’ve named is genuinely suited to that responsibility.

This is where experienced legal guidance becomes valuable. Rather than focusing solely on document preparation, good estate planning involves identifying issues before they become disputes. 

Jackson & Associates, based in Belair, works with Adelaide families across straightforward first wills and complex multi-generational estates. The approach is consistent either way: listen carefully, understand the full picture, and draft something that holds up when it matters most.

• Frequently Asked Questions

Can someone be excluded from a will entirely?

Yes, but it carries risk. Eligible family members in South Australia can make a family provision claim if they believe the will failed to provide for them adequately. Experienced lawyers for wills can advise on how to document intentions clearly and reduce exposure to a successful challenge.

Does superannuation automatically pass to whoever is named in the will? 

No, and this surprises many people. Superannuation sits outside the estate and is distributed by the fund trustee. Binding nominations expire if not regularly reviewed and renewed.

What happens if someone dies without a will in South Australia?

The estate is distributed according to a fixed legal formula, which may not reflect the deceased’s wishes at all. An administrator is appointed by the court, delays are common, and the outcome is rarely what the person would have chosen.

Are assets in a family trust covered by the will? 

No. Trust assets are governed by the trust deed, not the will. This is one of the reasons consulting wills and estate planning lawyers about the full picture of your assets matters so much.

How often should a will be reviewed? 

Every three to five years, and after any major life change. Jackson & Associates offers straightforward appointments to review and update existing documents efficiently.

Can a will be challenged after probate is granted?

Yes. Probate does not close the door permanently. Family provision claims in South Australia can still be filed within strict time limits after probate is granted.

What if both spouses pass away at the same time? 

Many wills don’t plan for this scenario. A properly drafted will includes a survivorship clause and clearly named backup beneficiaries so assets still reach the right people.

Does moving interstate affect the validity of my will?

A will valid in one Australian state is generally recognised across others. However, different states have different rules around family provision claims, which makes a review worthwhile after any interstate move.