Practice area
A library of plain-English guides on preparing a valid Will, testamentary trusts, superannuation, and the everyday decisions that make an estate plan effective in Victoria.
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A practical guide to making a valid Will in Victoria, including capacity, executors, beneficiaries, signing, witnessing, storage and later updates.
A reverse mortgage lets an older homeowner borrow against home equity while ordinarily keeping ownership, with repayment postponed until a contractual trigger. This Victorian guide explains the consumer-credit protections that apply, what the credit contract and mortgage actually control, how capacity and enduring powers of attorney affect the transaction, what happens to a spouse or co-resident, and how the debt is dealt with on a move into aged care or on death.
A Victorian advance care directive can contain an instructional directive, a values directive, or both. This guide explains the legal difference under the Medical Treatment Planning and Decisions Act 2016 (Vic), the formal signing and witnessing requirements, when each type of statement operates, what health practitioners and medical treatment decision makers must do with it, and the limits and exclusions that apply.
Treasury's July 2026 consultation paper proposes conditions for exempting testamentary trusts from the proposed 30% minimum trust tax from 1 July 2028. This article explains the announced exemption, the principal unresolved issues, and what will-makers, executors and trustees should consider now.
A practical Victorian checklist of the legal and financial mistakes to avoid in the first weeks after a death — estate assets, funeral arrangements, bank accounts, probate, property, debts and executor authority.
How inheritances and deceased-estate interests are treated in Australian property settlements under sections 79 and 90SM of the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) — no automatic exclusion, no compulsory single pool and no fixed percentage. Covers received, vested, contingent and expected interests, timing and use, keeping an inheritance separate, disclosure, executors and trustees, testamentary trusts, finality after orders and agreements, and the tax and duty consequences.
A practical Victorian guide to appointing a supportive attorney under the Powers of Attorney Act 2014 (Vic) — what a supportive attorney can and cannot do, how it differs from an enduring power of attorney, capacity requirements, the correct form and witnessing, decision-support rather than substitute decision-making, third-party recognition, revocation and safeguards against abuse.
A practical Victorian guide to applications at VCAT for guardianship, administration, supportive guardianship and supportive administration orders under the Guardianship and Administration Act 2019 — decision-making capacity, less restrictive alternatives, will and preferences, evidence, hearings, the powers and duties of appointees and how orders are reassessed, varied or cancelled.
How residential aged-care costs work in Australia — Refundable Accommodation Deposits, Daily Accommodation Payments, means-tested contributions and the legal issues families should check before agreeing to any arrangement.
A practical guide to choosing an executor in Victoria, including duties, suitability, multiple executors, substitutes, conflicts, costs and professional options.
A practical guide to estate planning risks when superannuation death benefits may pass to adult children — dependency, tax warnings, blended families and estate disputes.
Comprehensive Victorian executor's guide covering appointment, probate, collecting and protecting estate assets, liabilities, beneficiary rights, fiduciary duties, co-executor and removal issues, executor remuneration, estate taxation, distributions, delays, personal liability, estate litigation, finalisation and a practical executor checklist.
A cornerstone Victorian guide to binding death benefit nominations — validity and execution, eligible recipients, direct payment versus payment to the estate, testamentary trusts, reversionary pensions, attorneys and capacity, tax, and how nominations are challenged or defended.
Does a Will control superannuation? How a death benefit is paid to a beneficiary or to your estate, what nominations do, the tax distinctions, and how to coordinate your Will, nominations, insurance and pension arrangements.
When a parent's legal duty to support a child ends in Australia — including child support, adult child maintenance, university students, disability and estate planning.
A practical Australian guide for business owners, family groups, trustees, appointors, executors and advisers on what happens to a family trust when the appointor dies — the appointor role, succession clauses in trust deeds, the executor's involvement, control of family businesses after death, asset protection, taxation considerations and common mistakes.
An executor occupies a position of trust and must act in the best interests of the estate and beneficiaries. Learn about fiduciary duties in Victoria.
Practical Victorian answers on first steps after a death, when a grant is needed, the RedCrest-Probate notice and 2026–27 Court fees, intestacy, debts and insolvency, distribution timing under sections 99 and 99A, family provision, disputes and estate tax.
Learn who can arrange a funeral in Victoria, what legal documents may be needed, who pays funeral costs, and how disputes about funeral arrangements may arise.
A deed of family arrangement can help beneficiaries vary how estate assets are distributed. Learn when it may be used, key risks, tax issues and when to seek legal advice.
Learn when Letters of Administration are required, who can apply, how the Supreme Court process works and how estates are administered in Victoria.
What intestacy means in Victoria, who administers an estate without a Will, how Letters of Administration work, and the statutory rules that decide who inherits.
Capacity, knowledge and approval, and undue influence are different Victorian will challenges. Compare the tests, burdens, evidence and remedies.
When a Will is challenged on capacity grounds, medical evidence can be highly influential. Learn how medical records and expert opinions are considered in Victoria.
A current Victorian guide to general and enduring powers of attorney, medical treatment decision makers, duties, safeguards, VCAT and practical use.
How an attorney or alternative attorney resigns from a Victorian enduring power of attorney: the pathways under sections 56 to 62, the prescribed Form 4, notice duties and when VCAT leave is required.
An attorney appointed under an enduring power of attorney must act in the principal's best interests. Learn what options may be available if concerns arise about misuse of authority.
The most common mistakes Victorians make when appointing an enduring power of attorney — choosing the wrong attorney, conflicts of interest, capacity, record keeping and how to prevent financial abuse.
How a Victorian principal revokes an enduring power of attorney or one attorney's appointment — the capacity requirement, prescribed Form 2, notice, the events that end a power automatically, and VCAT where capacity is lost or conduct is disputed.
How testamentary trusts work, when they're useful, and the asset-protection and tax-planning benefits they can offer your beneficiaries.
A clear explanation of why every adult in Victoria should have a valid Will, what happens without one, and how to make sure your wishes are properly recorded.
A practical Australian guide for will-makers, executors, trustees, beneficiaries, accountants and advisers on the taxation of testamentary trusts — present entitlement, excepted trust income for minors, streaming franked dividends and capital gains, sections 99 and 99A, TFNs, trust tax returns, anti-avoidance limits and common trustee mistakes.
The Victorian law of testamentary capacity: the complete Banks v Goodfellow test, evidence at instructions and execution, burden of proof, related validity grounds and probate procedure.
Many families assume that a person diagnosed with dementia cannot make a valid Will. In reality, the legal position is often more complex.
Learn the difference between mutual wills and mirror wills, how they work, and whether they are suitable for couples and blended families.
When the Supreme Court of Victoria will recognise an informal document — including a text message, email or computer file — as a valid will under the Wills Act 1997 (Vic).
How wills, testamentary trusts, life interests and superannuation nominations can help blended families balance the interests of a new spouse and children from earlier relationships.
How the Supreme Court of Victoria may authorise a Will for a person without testamentary capacity, the three statutory tests, evidence, participation, procedure and urgent practical issues.
How Victorians can provide for a pet in a Will: choosing carers, funding care, executor powers, incapacity planning and practical contingencies.
