Estate Services

The estate services team at Norton & Smailes provides planning and administration services for estates underpinned by taxation and transfer duty advice.   Our team offers a diverse range of services including:

Estate Planning:

As part of our estate services, Norton & Smailes specialises in advising on preparing estate plans for clients.Our comprehensive service brings together the complex interaction of inheritance law, trust law and tax law.

Our dedicated team advises on and prepare:

  • Wills;
  • Succession of control of:
    • Trusts (ie trustees, appointors and guardians)
    • Companies
    • Partnerships;
    • Superannuation Funds
  • Property Ownership;
  • Superannuation Binding Death Benefit Nominations.
  • Enduring Powers of Attorney; and
  • Enduring Powers of Guardianship.

A key feature of our estate plan is our detailed letter of advice which provides an overview to facilitate future reviews and ultimately, administration of the estate.   The benefits of a properly prepared estate plan can include:

  • Certainty as to Control of your Estate;
  • Certainty as to Distributions;
  • Asset Protection from Claims;
  • Tax Benefits and concessions for the Estate and Beneficiaries.

Most clients are surprised to learn that assets owned by trusts and companies do not form part of their Estate capable of being distributed via their Will. This also applies to superannuation entitlements.

As part of a client’s Estate plan, Norton & Smailes will always consider the future control of trusts, trustees, appointors and guardians, as well as the potential class of beneficiaries.

Companies also need special consideration. Norton & Smailes will look at the succession of ownership of shares and the control of the board of directors.

Superannuation entitlements do not automatically form part of an Estate capable of being distributed via the Will.  Often a self managed superannuation fund (SMSF) requires detailed consideration of the trust deed and the circumstances of a client in order to determine how a death benefits nomination may be structured.  This may involve a binding death benefit nomination (BDBN).

Care is required with nominations made by members of industry or retail superannuation funds.  Often the nomination must be refreshed every 3 years.  At Norton & Smailes we can assist in advising on and preparing death benefit nominations and advising on utilising pension strategies to achieve Estate planning outcomes.

Special consideration is given to blended families, which often involves the balancing of leaving assets for the second spouse and the children of the first relationship.  The tax treatment of assets can shape the Estate planning decisions in this regard.

By an Enduring Power of Attorney a client can appoint an attorney who will handle his or her finances in the event of the loss of legal capacity due to illness or injury such as Dementia or Alzheimer’s Disease.  This can circumvent the need to make an application for the appointment of an administrator at the State Administrative Tribunal (SAT). 

It is now possible to appoint a guardian via an Enduring Power of Guardian who can make health and other decisions on behalf of an incapacitated person.  In addition, an Advanced Health Directive can prescribe the treatment that a client wishes to receive upon losing capacity.  Our team can assist in preparing these documents.

We also provide international advice or overseas clients or clients who hold assets in other countries often involving complex inheritance laws and tax laws including the United Kingdom (UK); the United States of America (USA); New Zealand; Hong Kong; Singapore; Malaysia; South Africa; and European Countries.

Probate and Administration

Upon a person passing away, Norton & Smailes can provide services to obtain a Grant of Probate or, if there is no Will (i.e. a person dies intestate), then letters of administration.   The Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration enable an Executor or Administrator to deal with the assets of the Deceased as set out in the Will or in the Administration Act 1903.  We usually agree to obtain a Grant of Probate for a fixed fee, if certain conditions are met.

Once Probate is granted or the Administrator is appointed, our team can assist in administering the estate by transferring property and other assets to the beneficiaries, in particular, with the tax and transfer duty consequences in mind. 

Norton & Smailes can also assist in the re-seal of a Grant of Probate in Australia or through our agents in other places.  Norton & Smailes’ partners are members of the inaugural Perth Branch of Society and Trust in Estate Practitioners (STEP), an international organisation that gives Norton & Smailes access to specialist practitioners in almost all countries.

http://www.step.org/

Contested Estates

If there is a dispute over an Estate in relation to:

  • the validity of a Will (invalidly prepared Will or question as to the capacity of the Will-maker to make a Will); or
  • a claim under the Inheritance (Family and Dependents Provision) Act, 1972 (“Inheritance Act”),

Norton & Smailes can provide advice and representation to make or resist such a claim. 

Norton & Smailes can also advise and represent in a proprietary estoppel claim or certain disposals of assets in lifetime of the Deceased.  Managing a contested Estate claim often involves a complex interaction of the inheritance law, trust law and the tax and duty consequences.  Norton & Smailes has extensive experience in managing contested Estates for clients to arrive at a resolution having regard to the often emotionally charged positions taken by the parties.

Norton & Smailes advises and represents clients in Supreme Court proceedings which are almost always settled or compromised at mediation.

For further information about our Estate services, we encourage you to contact us.

 


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