Wills and Estate Lawyers Parramatta

Our team of estate solicitors in Parramatta have vast experience with:

• Creating a Will
• Enduring power of attorney
• Developing estate planning documents
• Estate administration
• Advance health directives
• Family provision claims
• Estate litigation and Will disputes

Nobody likes to think about dying but when it comes to organising your Will and estate it’s something we all have to do. Working with an experienced Wills and estate lawyer in Parramatta can make the process simpler and ensure that your hard earned assets go where you want them to.

Your Will contains the legal documents that lay out what is to happen to your assets when you die. Regardless of your worth or circumstances, it is important every person has a valid Will. Working with an estate lawyer in Parramatta will make sure that your Will is legally valid, which will save your family members time, money and stress after your passing. Your Will is also the most effective method to make sure your wishes are adhered to and protect your estate from estate disputes.

Why should I have a Will?

We work hard throughout our lives to earn our assets so having peace of mind that your assets will go to the person/s you wish is important. A legally valid Will protects these wishes and ensures your family members know exactly what your wishes are.

If I pass away without a Will what will happen?

When a person dies with no Will they are deemed “intestate.” When this occurs an estate will be distributed according to the laws of intestacy. These laws do not have any regard for any wishes a person may have had for their estate assets, and your assets may be given to people you are no longer close to.

Having a legally valid Will created by a lawyer is the most effective to prevent this from happening.

Sometimes it is necessary to create an estate plan to go along with your Will. Our Parramatta estate planning lawyers can assist you with:

• creating an account of your personal assets such as superannuation funds, bank accounts and family trusts
• nominating a person to act as your decision maker (powers of attorney)
• directing assets to specific people or organisations
• organising protections in case a beneficiary has any special needs or legal problems

An Enduring Power of attorney is the person/s who will look after your financial and legal affairs in the event that you no longer have the capacity to do so. Nominating this person is part of the estate planning process and is normally a person you know and trust who is capable of managing your affairs for you.

Having an Advance Health Directive (AHD) in place gives you the chance to outline your wishes for any future healthcare decisions, in the event that you lose the mental capacity to do so. It is a legal document that will allow your Enduring guardian to know exactly what kind of decisions you would have made for yourself if you were able to.

After a person has passed away someone will need to handle the person’s estate. This called “administering the deceased estate.” The person who is administering the estate is known as the Executor and is responsible for handling all the steps of the legal process to distribute the estate assets. Our estate lawyers in Parramatta can help an Executor to complete their responsibilities, which can be a very time consuming process.

Roles and duties of an executor

The roles and duties of an Executor can be arduous depending on the state of the deceased estate. It can include collecting any outstanding assets, paying any outstanding debts and taxes, dealing with the sale of property or shares, closing accounts and distributing assets to their intended beneficiaries. All of this happens during a time of grief, which is why it helps to have our compassionate and professional team assist you through the process.

What is Probate?

Obtaining a Grant of Probate is the process of getting a Will deemed as legally valid by the Supreme Court of New South Wales. While not always required as part of the estate administration process, it is often a requirement.

Our probate lawyers can assist you through this legal process.

What are Letters of Administration?

Letter of Administration are required when deceased estates are intestate. This requires the person who wishes to become the administrator of the estate 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.

Family Provision Claims

A family provision claim allows people who feel they have been unfairly left out a Will to make a claim to receive provisions from the deceased person’s estate.

To be eligible to make a family provision claim you must have had a relationship with the deceased person which is deemed eligible by the Succession Act NSW and you must make your claim within 12 months of the deceased’s death.

If you feel you have been unfairly left out of a Will or not received your fair share you can contest, dispute or challenge the Will. You can contest a Will by challenging whether the Will is valid or contesting the amount of money you have been left in the Will.

Disputes about the legal validity of Wills or entitlements under Wills arise in a number of circumstances.

Sometimes disappointed beneficiaries (or other persons including the Executor named in the Will) approach the Court in respect of the validity of the Will. The circumstances might include:

• Where there are two Wills that were made at similar times.
• Where there is a doubt if the testator has actually executed the Will.
• Where there is a degree of doubt about whether the testator/ had the capacity to make the Will which is the subject of the dispute.

There are strict time limits involved when contesting wills so it is important that you seek legal representation from a Will dispute lawyer in a timely manner.

An Enduring guardian is the person/s who will look after your health and wellbeing in the event that you no longer have the capacity to do so. Nominating this person is part of the estate planning process and is normally a person you know has your best interests at heart and is capable of managing your affairs for you.

When you appoint your guardian you can also inform them of your wishes for these future decisions and how you would like them to proceed.

Turner Freeman Lawyers have been offering legal services for over 70 years. Wills and estates law can be complex, confusing and time consuming to navigate, so why not work with one of our experienced lawyers who can both provide advice and support you with all your legal needs.