Basic Rules for Modern Estate Planning & Wills for Families
Don’t know where to start?
Here are some basic guidelines to follow when getting your Family's Estate Planning and Wills sorted.
Over time, most people will have amassed a significant list of valuable assets during their lives, but when they are first starting out, they may use a Life Insurance policy to create an immediate inheritance available now, until their assets increase in value later.
01
Get your Power of Attorney sorted first
The beginning of all good Estate Planning starts with understanding why everyone needs a Power of Attorney document so you have somebody legally authorised to make financial decisions for you if you're unable to because of a sickness, injury, or absence.
02
Power of Enduring Guardianship sorted next
While this document's name is slightly different in each Australian state, the intention is the same - to legally appoint somebody authorised to make health and lifestyle decisions for you, if you're ever unable to because you lose mental capacity. While there is a legal hierarchy of who medical staff must consult first to make life-saving decisions about you, you may not wish to give away that power to someone you would not choose yourself. Choose and legally nominate your own ‘Responsible Person’ with a Power of Enduring Guardianship document.
03
Know who you want to leave your assets to upon your passing
Think about your long term picture. Do you have dependent children? Are your children now adults with their own families? Is your family more a family of choice than a biological one? Do you wish to leave your assets only to a handful of specific people and restrict who can make a claim on your Will?
04
Know who you do not want to leave your assets to upon your passing
Do you suspect certain people may contest your wishes in your Will? Do something proactive about that and make sure you include a ‘Considered Person Clause’ in your Will to help identify and exclude them. Take action today. Remember only Estate-Assets are transferred via a Will, so learn about Non-Estate Assets.
05
Is it possible future beneficiaries of your Will may face Divorce, Bankruptcy or Addictions?
Looking into the future and covering all possibilities is impossible, but we can use a Protective Will to address the top 5 risks that future beneficiaries and their families may face - the need for protection for Bankruptcy, Divorce, Addictions, Superannuation Proceeds, and Vulnerable Beneficiary Maintenance Trusts. There are clearly some life events that may unexpectedly affect us all later which could interfere with receiving and keeping a future inheritance. Take action today through your Will to safeguard any future inheritance.
06
Appoint Guardians for your children under 18, just in case
Possible future Guardians for Children can be nominated in your Will. While such nominations if ever needed must ultimately be approved by the Family Court, your legal nomination of them in your Will now has significant sway with the court's final decision later.
07
Make sure you fund potential future guardians to care for your children adequately
If you have children or frail-aged parents that require looking after in the event you unexpectedly pass away, make sure you leave sufficient funds (or leave a dedicated life insurance policy for this purpose alone) to fund the care and provision of the vulnerable people in your life.
08
Insist upon safe storage of Wills & Legal Documents in a Safe Document Service - No exceptions
Make it known to your family and Wills Executor all your original Key Legal Documents are securely stored and held in trust in a dedicated legal document storage facility and that access will require 100 points of ID and a death certificate. Remove any question of lost Wills or assertions of ‘possible tampering with a legal document’.
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7 Myths About Modern
Estate Planning
For Blended Families
Estate Planning for Blended Families
Protecting your 'Logical Family' from a legal system designed only for 'Biological Family.'
Most people mistakenly believe estate planning is just about making a Will document. They forget (or ignore) that Modern Estate Planning involves creating three key legal documents, all designed to help you maintain your independence, and structures that support your and your chosen family. But this is based upon you making the choice to make those decisions, while you can.
Deciding not to create a Will document (living atestate) is also a choice and the Australian government has a binding set of laws called the Laws of Intestacy (dying without a Will) ready to swing into place if you don't make that timely decisions yourself and you unexpectedly pass aways intestate.
It's really about protecting and providing, and creating the Ultimate Plan B.
The 'Brady Bunch' Reality Check
If you're part of a blended family, chances are you have decided to build something beautiful. You have brought two lives, two histories, and perhaps two sets of children together to form a new family. You live by the truth that love makes a family, not just DNA.
- But, here is the cold, hard reality that most blended families discover too late: The Australian legal system does not share your view.
Our succession laws were written decades ago for a 'nuclear family' model that looks everyday less and less like modern Australia. In the eyes of Intestacy Law, the step-children you have raised, loved, and supported are often considered legal strangers.
If you pass away without a specialist plan - a state we call being Atestate - the law effectively erases the non-biological bonds you spent years building.
The 3 Risks of the Merger Minefield
Blended families face a unique set of financial and emotional risks that traditional families simply do not understand. We call this the Merger Minefield, and navigating it requires more than just a standard legal document.
- The Trap of Inheritance Erasure
If you die without a Will (Intestate), the government applies a rigid formula to your estate based on Consanguinity (blood relation). In almost every Australian state, step-children have no automatic right to inherit from a step-parent. Even if you treated them as your own for 20 years, the law may bypass them entirely, passing your assets solely to your biological kin or new spouse. - The Failure of the Simple Will Approach
Many couples think they are protected because they signed 'Simple Mirror Wills' ("I leave everything to you, and you leave everything to me").- The Danger: This relies entirely on trust, not law. If you die first, your surviving partner inherits everything. They are then legally free to change their Will, remarry, or fall out with your children.
- The Result: Your biological children can be legally disinherited by your partner's future choices, with no recourse.
- The Peacekeeper's Paralysis
We know why you haven't fixed this yet. It’s hard. You worry that bringing up money might look like you don't trust your new partner. You worry about upsetting your biological kids.
So, you do nothing. You inadvertently choose 'Peace for today' at the cost of a War for your children tomorrow.
The Reality Check: See the Gap for Yourself
Don't just take our word for it. We have built a tool to show you exactly how the government views your family right now. The Intestacy Estimator isn't a quiz about your feelings. It is a calculator based on the rigid statutory laws of your specific Australian State or Territory.
See who inherits your legacy if you do nothing.
The Solution: Intention + Structure
Love is the foundation of your family, but structure is the shelter. At Sapience, we specialise in Protective Estate Planning for complex families. We move you beyond the "Simple Will" into robust legal structures that ensure your wishes survive, no matter what the future holds.
Our Blended Family Strategies:
- The Protective Will: Unlike a standard Will, this uses Testamentary Trusts to protect your children's inheritance from their own risks (divorce, bankruptcy) and ensures your assets stay within your bloodline if that is your wish.
- The Contractual Will: (Mutual Wills): A binding legal agreement that prevents the surviving spouse from changing the Will after you are gone. It locks in the 'deal' you made together.
- Life Insurance as the Equalizer: Sometimes, dividing a house is impossible. We use life insurance to create an "instant inheritance" for your children, allowing your spouse to keep the family home without conflict.
- The Peace-Maker Conversation: We facilitate the hard conversations for you. We help you frame these decisions not as lack of trust but as active protection for everyone you love.
Don't Leave Your Legacy to Chance
You have worked too hard to blend your family to let the government pull it apart. Stop walking around atestate. Let's build a plan that honors the family you actually have, not the one the law assumes you have.
How we can help
Modern Estate Planning for Blended Families is about building upon your decisions to building your family your way and making structures and decisions that support you and your family, not leave it vulnerable.
Contact us for a confidential chat about your needs.
