Making a Will means putting legal guidelines around what you would like to happen to your assets once you pass. This can include things like how you want your assets shared, who will look after your children, any trusts you would like set up, funeral plans or whether you’d like to give money to charity.  

A Will gives you security in making sure your wishes are carried out.  

It’s important to change your Will if your circumstances change. This could include getting married, divorced, having children, losing a spouse through death or having significant changes to your financial status. 

Testamentary Trusts can be written into your Will so that a trustee looks after your assets until your beneficiaries can access them. An example could be until your children reach a certain age or a goal (i.e gets married or earns a qualification).

Appointing someone to take control of your affairs is an important decision to make and the team at Kelly Legal are here to help you make the best choice for all involved. 

A Power of Attorney (POA) is a document which gives the person/s of your choice the legal right to act in your place and make important personal or financial decisions on your behalf. 

There are two types of POA. 

General Power of Attorney is used while you can still make your own decisions and becomes void once you lose the capacity. It’s commonly used when travelling overseas for a long period of time and you require your assets to be managed. 

Enduring Power of Attorney means your assets are not locked up if you lack the legal capacity or soundness of mind to sign documents or make other decisions regarding your assets. It continues to be valid even if you become unable to make your own decisions. 

You can nominate for a Power of Attorney to start straight away, or at a time/date or occasion in which you nominate i.e. you’ve lost the capacity to make decisions. 

Anyone over 18 years of age can be appointed and you can choose the level of decision-making power and financial access that they have. 

How is it different to a Will? 

A Power of Attorney enables you to appoint someone to manage your affairs on your behalf while you are still alive. A Will distributes your assets as per your wishes after your death. 

Choosing a POA is an important decision and you should be able to trust the person you appoint. Our experienced team can provide advice for your particular situation.

Many people choose to communicate their wishes about health care, medical treatment or end-of-life decisions via an Advanced Health Directive. 

This document allows you to appoint a guardian to make important decisions about your health and welfare if you lose the ability to do so. It can indicate if you consent to, or withhold from medical treatment, pain management and to what degree, whether you consent to intervention to keep you alive and any other health-related wishes you may have. 

It can be as specific or general as you want but the purpose is to ensure your decisions are communicated and played out the way you envisage during critical times. 

It’s important to regularly review your Advanced Health Directive in case your circumstances change.

Many people choose to communicate their wishes about health care, medical treatment or end-of-life decisions via an Advanced Health Directive. 

This document allows you to appoint a guardian to make important decisions about your health and welfare if you lose the ability to do so. It can indicate if you consent to, or withhold from medical treatment, pain management and to what degree, whether you consent to intervention to keep you alive and any other health-related wishes you may have. 

It can be as specific or general as you want but the purpose is to ensure your decisions are communicated and played out the way you envisage during critical times. 

It’s important to regularly review your Advanced Health Directive in case your circumstances change.

It’s important to consider how your superannuation assets will be handled when you pass away. 

Superannuation funds are not automatically assets of your estate, as they are technically held by the Trustee of the superannuation fund on your behalf. The same goes for any death benefits attached to your superannuation, which is payable on your death. 

By completing a Binding Death Benefit Nomination, you are binding the Trustee of the super fund to pay your nominated beneficiaries the balance of your superannuation and any death benefits. Without this document, it is left to the Trustee of the superannuation fund to decide who will receive the remainder of your superannuation and death benefit. 

The team at Kelly Legal can provide specialised advice on making a Binding Death Benefit Nomination.