Estate Planning & Business Succession


Our Team in Newcastle specialise in the areas of estate planning, asset protection and business succession planning.

Our Estate Planning and Business Succession Team was created in response to the recognition of the fact that estate planning is one of the biggest growth areas in the legal and accounting professions at the moment. The reasons are well known and documented – with growing community wealth, baby boomers reaching retirement, small businesses now worth a lot of money (compared to five to ten years ago), blended families (becoming more common) and same-sex couples (becoming more recognised), it all means there is added complexity to the estate planning process from every perspective.

The key thing to understand in relation to estate planning is that it is an inter-disciplinary area of practice. You cannot just pick out trust and estates law and say “that’s it – I know enough to help you”. Estate planning also includes taxation matters, state revenue and stamp duty issues, superannuation laws and administration, trust law, wills and estates law, elder law, asset protection and bankruptcy laws and family law. It must be understood that all of these areas have a place within estate planning.

During their years of practice Warwick Gilbertson and Lisa Roberts have regularly dealt with all forms of structures used by people to create, develop and preserve their assets and wealth. They have also spent too much time in the NSW Supreme Court watching families destroy themselves as they fought over the assets in a deceased estate all which could have been prevented by a proper estate plan.

Estate planning is more than just making a plan to distribute certain assets to certain people. Our passion for estate planning has seen the creation of many varied estate plans from those for the young family through to retirees who have sold their business or retired from their employment. We create the estate plan that ‘protects your assets now and for generations to come’. We also take into account evolving legal and economic strategies as well as the continually changing tax and superannuation laws to make the most of your estate plan and update it to reflect these changes. Estate planning is a continuous process.

If you are looking for a firm with experience in estate planning, with practitioners who understand testamentary trusts, and the interaction of structuring for asset protection, superannuation, family trusts and insurance with estate planning, business succession planning and all other aspects of effective inter-generation transfer of wealth, call Warwick Gilbertson or Lisa Roberts on 02 4904 8000 or send an email.

Publications

Estate Planning

Having a Will which saves tax

Most people are aware of the importance of having an up-to-date Will which expresses their current wishes in relation to who gets what when they die.   In many cases, you can save your beneficiaries a lot of money by having a Will which is tax effective. These types of Wills normally cost more than a “regular” Will...

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Parents of disabled children can NOW put in place PROTECTIVE TRUSTS...

to be used to fund their child's needs when the parents die...
Some good, helpful information...it may be of interest to you or someone you know...

More and more often our advice is being sought by the parents of disabled children, concerned to put in place a mechanism to fund the needs of their child, once...

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Partnership & shareholder agreements should help business owners & their families avoid arguments...

Bill and Nell had farmed a large rural property for 50 years. The farm was registered in Bill’s name as he inherited the farm from his Uncle. He married Nell and they had been together for 45 years. Bill and Nell had 2 children, Peter and John. Both boys worked with Bill on the farm. Bill, Nell, Peter and John traded as a...

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Avoid the wreckage...

Our litigation solicitors are often engaged in trying to solve problems after the event - a little like carefully picking through the wreckage after a car has gone over the cliff.

That is also why we have a team of passionately dedicated estate planners. Estate planning is all about creating structures to prevent the car...

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Fairness and equality in your Will requires a lot of thought and a well crafted document

Following is an example of how a commonly used term in a Will which on the face of it appears fair, can actually result in very unfair consequences.

Patrick and Jane are in their early fifties and have three children aged 26, 21 and 13. They have a Will which makes equal provision for the three children.

The...

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Events
What an Executor or an Administrator needs to know and do when administering a deceased's estate...

Tuesday 28th Feb 2012
Time 6:00pm - 7:30pm 28th Feb


Blogs
"I am now in my new home and still busily unpacking boxes! Will it ever finish? Your guidance and assitance in reaching this stage is very much...

W B Lean

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