Simple. Accessible. For your unique family.
Simple. Accessible. For your unique family.
Wills and Estate Planning Lawyer Canberra.
We provide personal and practical advice and the optimal documents to get the best outcome for you and your family.
Wills Estates Probate Lawyers Canberra.
Contact us for practical, friendly and clear solutions, advice and documents for your Wills and estate planning needs.
Book in a free 10 minute chat with lawyer Del Copeland:-
Caring expert in Estate Planning
Custom legal solutions to look after your unique family
Online for your convenience
Experienced and knowledgeable solicitor
Transparent fixed fee pricing
Suite 111, M Centre, 11 Palmerston Lane, Manuka ACT 2603
PO Box 160, Bonville NSW 2450
Contact Us.
Why choose Copeland Estates Legal to be your Wills and Estate Planning Lawyer?
We look after holistic solutions to realise your goals and satisfy your needs so that you and your family are financially protected and are mentally at ease.
Ready to start?
The first step can often be the hardest. Clicking the button gets your there. Book a free chat.
Practical legal support.
Get practical support to manage your loved one’s estate.
Practical legal support.
Get practical support to manage your loved one’s estate.
We understand it’s not a nice time and having to deal with the practicalities feels all too hard – whether it’s trying to discover what assets need to be dealt with, figuring out what to do with the Will (or finding out there may not be a Will), dealing with organisations and their requirements.
It can be a rollercoaster ride of emotions, ups and downs. And this can happen whether you know exactly what to do or if you have no idea and feel like you’re floundering.
Distress, confusion and miscommunication should not be things you need to deal with on top of all the rest. Having someone hold your hand and guide you through can make a world of difference.
Our role is to give solid, clear advice and look after all the practical steps to help you get from the A all the way to the Z in the best way possible.
It’s our job to look after you and make sure that all the i’s are dotted, all the t’s are crossed and that you are protected in having looked after your loved one’s estate effectively and with all the legal protections.
Clear legal advice.
“One size fits all” does not fit all when it comes to estate planning.
Clear legal advice.
“One size fits all” does not fit all when it comes to estate planning.
Sometimes it’s hard taking that first step to getting your Wills and Estate Planning sorted because you simply don’t know what you need. All goals are valid and maybe you’re trying to protect your family against future claim, maybe you’re anticipating a family member will have a marriage breakdown, maybe you’re looking to tie up the most effective, simple plan for your family to trigger one day.
We’ll give you a hint: creating a solution is what we’re here to help you with. If you don’t know what you want because it feels all too hard, we help clarify your thoughts and give you clear advice to put into action something that will achieve your goals and look after your family’s future.
Caring & experienced lawyer.
We have an accommodating and caring team to help put you at ease.
We have 15+ years of experience looking after families in setting up their Wills and estate planning.
We think outside the box when needed and advise you on strategic decisions that afford favourable results.
We have assist you in setting up your estate planning for asset and claim protection.
We can provide clear and practical advice on how to structure your Wills and estate planning for blended families.
The first move is to book a free 10 minute chat so we can advise you on what you need to do next.
Our Wills & Estates Services include
Our Wills & Estate Planning services include
Wills
Every adult in Australia should have a Will. Especially if you have a family. We can prepare standard Wills to deal with simple estates and family structures, to more complex Wills or Testamentary Trust Wills that take into account blended families or those that have a higher chance of being contested. We can make sure that your individual and family circumstances are taken into consideration to make sure that your Will looks after those you leave behind and your wishes will be followed.
Testamentary Trust Wills
To simplify, these documents are Wills that contain a trust deed within them that can only be activated on your death. These Will Trusts can’t just be created during your lifetime and perhaps because of it, they contain special tax concessions on income streaming that other Trusts can’t give you. Testamentary Trust Wills can also be used if you want to benefit someone with a disability or someone who is likely to mismanage assets such that someone else can look after the asset and income on their behalf.
Power of Attorney
Some people know these as living Wills because they appoint someone to look after your assets – in this case, during your lifetime, not after death. Powers of Attorney allow you to legally appoint someone you trust to sign financial documents for you and manage your finances if you can’t – either because you’re logistically unable to do so or because you have a temporary or permanent impairment that prevents you from doing so.
Enduring Guardianships
These are sometimes informally called “Medical Powers of Attorneys” and they are a safety net document that allows someone you trust to make decisions about where you live your medical and dental decisions if you can’t make those decisions for yourself.
Revocation documents
If you have previously appointed someone as your Attorney or Guardian and your circumstances have changed and you no longer want that person with power to look after your finances and medical decisions, you need to formally revoke the documents. Marriage and divorce make not revoke your Power of Attorney and Enduring Guardianship documents and making new documents will not revoke the old ones.
Succession Planning
It’s important to get the right advice when you’re looking at your succession plan: how will your family members be looked after? Will there be a right of residence or an income stream during their lifetime only? Will the child who’s been helping you in the family business inherit the business or will you structure the business so that they have the right to manage it but not have total ownership? Do you own a farming property on which your children have contributed but they don’t get on and it’s an asset you can’t split? No matter the family matrix, we can help you find the best way to achieve your goals.
Elder Law
We’re all getting older and those of us who have achieved retirement need to look after the next phase of their legal planning and long term residential and advanced care options. Ailments and capacity can often be issues that rear their ugly head and it’s important to have relevant discussions and receive the right advice early on so you can better plan for your future. We can also provide you with advice on Residential Aged Care Agreements.
Advice on Residential Aged Care Agreements
If you’ve made the decision or come to the realisation that you need the extra support of living in residential care, you will be presented with a (very) lengthy document that explains your rights and obligations of buying into the residence including any upfront lump sum accommodation bond, daily fees and services and any interest payable, along with what happens if you decide to leave or when you pass away. It’s important information and the aged care providers will usually suggest you get legal advice before you sign so know what you’re signing up for.
Corporate Powers of Attorney
If you are an officeholder of a company, or your business is run through a company, it may come as a surprise that a standard Power of Attorney document won’t allow you to delegate your authority on behalf of the company. If you are not able to sign a document on behalf of your company and if there are other officeholders they don’t have the authority to sign by themselves, a Corporate Power of Attorney will allow the attorney(s) appointed by the company to step and sign documents. When it means the ability to continue running a business that is your livelihood, it’s important to get your “Plan B” in place.
What the legal FAQ?
What the legal FAQ?
Where do you put your will and estate planning documents once they’re signed?
We offer FREE safe custody for all your important documents – not least of which are your Wills, Powers of Attorney and Enduring Guardianships. Making sure your original documents are in a safe place while still having copies and/or certified copies to use is the best way to have your cake and eat it too.
Do you need to use the lawyer who holds the Will to look after the estate?
No. Often if a lawyer holds a Will they are holding it on behalf of your loved one and must release it to the executor(s) upon receiving their direction to do so. You can choose your own lawyer to look after your loved one’s deceased estate.
Do you need a Will if you have no assets?
Yes. Imagine if one day you decided to open the front door and walk away from your life. There would be bills to be paid, bank accounts to close, people to notify, a residence to empty of your possessions – just to name a few. Without a Will, there’s no one legally appointed to deal with the fallout of you leaving, not to mention there is no direction on what to do with whatever assets you do leave behind.
Does superannuation form part of your estate?
Not necessarily. The trustee of your super fund will usually have the discretion to decide who gets your super if you don’t have a valid death nomination in place and your Will can sometimes play a role.
Are trusts only for large estates?
Not necessarily. Sure, big estates can benefit from tax concessions of having a Testamentary Trust Will crystallise on your loved one’s passing. But trusts can also help if you need to look after someone who is disabled or someone who may mismanage their inheritance, or if you are trying to protect against a certain risk.
Can you inherit debt?
If there are assets in the estate, those assets will need to be used to pay the debt before beneficiaries can receive a distribution. If there’s not enough to cover the liabilities, the estate may need to be administered as an insolvent estate with creditors receiving a portion only of what they’re owed.
Can I give away my half of the house?
In legal speak: it depends. If you own your house as joint tenants with someone else, then you can’t bequeath your half of the house without changing ownership. If you own the house as tenants in common then you can leave your share to a beneficiary.
Do executors get paid?
All estate expenses incurred by executors are reimbursed by the estate. If an executor is also a beneficiary of the estate, their distribution is usually taken to be their “payment” for services rendered. If they’re not a beneficiary and want to get paid for their efforts they can seek beneficiary consent or apply for executor’s commission through the Supreme Court.
Who pays for legal costs in a deceased estate?
The estate itself. All costs and expenses and liabilities will usually get paid by the estate before beneficiaries receive a distribution.
Are Will kits good enough?
A good (lawyer) friend of mine once told me her view: getting a DIY Will kit versus getting a lawyer to prepare your Will is the difference between using an ice cream bucket on your head versus using a bike helmet when cycling. If there’s a need to use it, best to decide what you’d rather be wearing.
