Estate Planning
Estate Planning consists of making preparations in relation to your death or in the event that you are no longer able to manage your own affairs (due to ill health or mental illness).
This can involve;
- Preparation of a Will
- Appointing an Executor to your Will
- Assigning an Enduring Power of Attorney
- Discretionary Trusts
People work hard to save and invest during their lifetimes, in order to own assets and build wealth for themselves and their family, why would you risk that not being distributed in the appropriate way?
Preparation of a Will
All too often people do not have a properly constructed Will and many rely on the Will Kits they can buy at the local stationery, Post Office or on the internet and try to do it all themselves.
It is critical to understand matters of how assets will be dealt with in relation to taxation upon someone's death.
Asset protection is also important to ensure that the beneficiaries of a deceased estate get what they want them to get and prevent any challenge to their wishes by other family members or creditors making a claim on the estate.
Liquidity and timing of arranging disposal of assets to be willed can also create delays in the Estate being finalised and distributions to beneficiaries can also be problematic if not planned for.
Many people think that their affairs are simple and therefore only need a simple Will - they are wrong.
The Courts are full of cases where Wills are being challenged and sadly many Wills are deemed to be invalid due to some discrepancy.
Power of Attorney
Estate Planning also is about the Living where someone has lost their ability to manage their own financial affairs due mental or physical incapacity.
An Enduring Power of Attorney is a legal instrument that can be established to overcome many difficulties in assisting family members or friends when for whatever reason a person cannot do it for them.
Incorporate Estate Planning into your Financial Plan
A Financial Planner can discuss all the personal wishes of how people want to achieve their particular financial position and in doing so have the peace of mind that a good Estate Plan can be put into effect for them.
A Financial Planner is skilled to consider the total financial position of their individual private clients and recommend certain Strategies to achieve their Goals and Financial objectives.
If you want to know more about how Benchmark Consultants can help you, contact us.