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The catalyst for writing a book about estate planning was a bulletin from Finder claiming that 12 million Australians did not have a will and 60% have never given a thought to estate planning. That’s a serious situation – and a signal that many people are unaware of the complexities that can arise if proper estate planning is not put in place.
Recently I was having a chat to the guy who takes care of my garden, and I asked him if he had a will. He replied “never got around to it. It all seems too much trouble. ” I responded, “you’ve been married before haven’t you –and don’t you have any children from that relationship?” He said yes to both questions. He got a shock when I told him that according to the laws of intestacy the previous family may get a bigger share of his money than he would like if he died without a valid will.
Estate planning is a massive topic because it covers such a myriad of issues, many of which are uncertain. It’s not just the interplay of important topics such as tax, superannuation and Centrelink — the estate planning laws differ from state to state.
To this heady mix we add the many facets of human psychology. Many people just don’t get around to making a will, and even if they do, there are the other challenges of choosing an appropriate executor and handling the competing interests of family members. There are further complications due to the number of people living longer and re-partnering later in life, and also the possibility of diminishing mental capacity.
And there’s more — many people I know have children living overseas, and over 50% of Australians were born overseas or have a parent living overseas. This brings the complexity of overseas assets and overseas beneficiaries into play.
Nobody is a specialist in all these areas, and I have been privileged when writing this book to have had invaluable help from experts in their field. The estate planning side was overseen by Kirsty Mackie, a solicitor in private practice who practices in both estate planning and family law; the tax section was co-written with Julia Hartman, a tax specialist in capital gains tax and deceased estates; and my guiding light in the superannuation section was Meg Heffron, one of Australia’s foremost authorities on superannuation.
