For You · Personal
Estate & Succession Planning
The tax side of estate planning, worked through with your solicitor so the will and the structures actually agree.
Overview
A will only covers what you personally own
Most family wealth does not pass under a will. Superannuation is paid at the trustee's discretion unless a binding nomination says otherwise. Assets in a family trust are not yours to leave; whoever holds the appointor role controls them. Jointly held property passes by survivorship regardless of what the will says.
We work with your solicitor on the tax and structural side: who should hold the appointor role and when it passes, whether a testamentary trust is worth the complexity, how superannuation death benefits will be taxed depending on who receives them, and how the business succession plan lines up with the personal one.
How we help
- 01
Working with your solicitor
Wills and testamentary trusts drafted by your lawyer, with the tax consequences modelled by us first.
- 02
Tax on deceased estates
Date-of-death returns, estate returns and the CGT rollover to beneficiaries handled correctly.
- 03
Superannuation death benefits
Binding nominations reviewed, and the tax on benefits modelled by dependant status before it is a surprise.
- 04
Family trust succession
Appointor and trustee succession documented, so control of the trust passes to whom you intend.
- 05
Business succession link
Personal estate planning aligned with the buy-sell agreement and the business succession timeline.
Resources
Does your will actually control your assets?
For most business owners, a good deal of family wealth sits outside it.
FAQ
Estate planning questions
No, but that does not mean an estate passes tax-free. Superannuation paid to a non-dependant is taxed, assets passing to a foreign resident can trigger CGT immediately, and the estate itself may need to lodge returns. The tax simply arrives in different places.
A trust created by your will rather than during your lifetime. It can give beneficiaries asset protection and let minor children be taxed at adult marginal rates rather than penalty rates. It adds complexity and cost, so it is worth it for some estates and not others.
Whoever holds the appointor role, because they can remove and replace the trustee. If the deed does not say what happens to that role on death, control can end up somewhere you never intended. It is the single most overlooked document in family estate planning.
It depends entirely on who receives it. A tax dependant such as a spouse generally receives it tax-free. An independent adult child receives the taxable component taxed. A binding death benefit nomination is what makes the outcome certain rather than discretionary.
Yes. Wills, powers of attorney and testamentary trusts must be drafted by a solicitor. We handle the tax modelling, the structures and the superannuation side, and work directly with your lawyer so the documents and the structures agree.
Speak to an accountant
Free 30-minute consultation.
No obligation. We’ll review where you are and tell you what we’d do.
+61 451 114 862Book a consultationThis page is general information only. It does not take your circumstances into account. Speak to a registered tax agent before acting on anything here.
Related services
Often paired with estate planning.
We’re here to help
Have a question? Tell us your story.
A qualified accountant replies within one business day.