Wills & Estates
Trusted Will & Estate Lawyers on the Sunshine Coast
Argon Law is your trusted partner for expert legal advice for all queries related to Wills, Estates and Estate Planning. With a wealth of experience, we pride ourselves on being "The Counsel You Keep," providing unwavering support to both you and your family.
Why are Wills and Estate Planning Important?
Estate planning is a crucial process that ensures your assets are managed and distributed according to your wishes after you pass away. Thorough Estate Planning involves much more than just property, encompassing various other aspects of your life, including family, finances, business structure, trusts, and personal values.
Why should you choose Argon Law to help with your Will?
Here at Argon Law, we have an experienced succession planning team who are passionate about ensuring your best interests are considered. They will explain everything in plain terms while making the process easy and stress-free. Led by Associate Solicitor Michelle Wilson and Paralegal Deanne Cherry, these Sunshine Coast locals provide compassionate and cutting-edge advice across all succession planning matters.
Located on the beautiful Sunshine Coast in Maroochydore, our approachable and welcoming team ensures that you, our clients, are at the forefront of every interaction. While based in Maroochydore, we service businesses and clients across the Sunshine Coast region, from Noosa to Caloundra.
Whether you need a simple Will or a more in-depth Estate Plan, we are here to help.
Download our Guide to Wills & Estate Planning, including indicative pricing
Wills
From the simplest of wills to more complicated ones which are an integrated part of you estate plan, we have extensive experience in advising and protecting our clients and their families. We can help you to ensure that your estate is distributed in accordance with your wishes and at the appropriate time and that the most vulnerable amongst you loved ones are properly looked after using testamentary trusts and other special provisions.
Testamentary Trusts
If you are thinking about doing a new will, a testamentary trust in your will may be something to consider. A testamentary trust is simply a trust established under a will which doesn’t come into existence until the will maker dies. There are both tax and asset protection benefits to testamentary trusts but they are not appropriate in every situation, so you should seek specialist advice or call us and we will be happy to answer your queries.
Enduring Powers of Attorney
An enduring power of attorney is a document by which you appoint one or more others to make decisions and sign documents on your behalf if you lose the legal capacity to understand the nature of such matters. Those decisions can be about financial matters as well as about health and lifestyle matters. We can guide you to make such documents which are often created at the same time as you make a will.
Advance Health Directives
Have you heard of an Advance Health Directive or, as it’s more commonly called, an AHD?
You may want to consider putting in place an Advance Health Directive where you feel strongly about what medical treatment you do or do not want to receive in hospital, especially in the end stages of life. An Advance Health Directive also ensures that your loved ones are not burdened with these difficult decisions.
A person over the age of 18 years who has capacity to understand the nature and effect of their decisions is generally able to make an Advance Health Directive.
Please contact us if you would like more information about Advance Health Directives.
Estate Planning
Estate planning generally includes doing a will, but it can involve a lot more than that, such as considering what you own, how you own or control it and what you want to happen to it when you die. Estate planning takes into consideration assets that you do not own directly, such as those in trusts, held by companies or in super. We have great experience in helping clients to understand the full extent of such assets and how they can best plan to pass on control of them upon their death.
Estate Administration
As well as assisting clients to obtain grants of probate and administration of deceased estates, our solicitors at Argon Law can assist executors in the process of managing estates, including getting control of and selling off estate assets, arranging for the preparation of tax returns, dealing with claims against the estate and arranging for payment of distributions to beneficiaries.
Estate Disputes
If you are a spouse, child or dependant of a deceased will maker, you are entitled to make a claim on the deceased’s estate if you have not been adequately provided for under the deceased’s will. We can help you to assess whether you have a valid claim. Please contact us is you would like us to review your circumstances including the deceased's will.
Superannuation Death Benefits
When a member of a Super fund dies, their entitlement to the assets of a fund is called a death benefit. These benefits must be transferred out of the Super fund and it's important for a member to understand what their benefits are and how they will be paid.
Most funds let you nominate who you want your death benefit to be paid to, but this can only be done strictly in the accordance with the trust deed and relevant regulations.
Many funds have a set form for the making of nominations. It is important to ensure that your your nomination is binding on the trustee of the fund and to understand that in many cases nominations will lapse after three years and need to be renewed.
In some cases, a binding death benefit nominations forms an integral part of an estate plan.
Storage of Safe Custody Documents
Argon Law provides the free service of retaining your important documents in our safe custody room. This includes your original Wills, Powers of Attorney and Certificates of Title.
You can access your safe custody documents at no cost at any time provided you are able to show verification of identity. If you are an appointed executor, attorney or guardian requiring access to another person’s safe custody documents you will be asked to provide additional documentation to confirm that you are in fact entitled to access those documents.