What is a Simple Smart Will?
A Simple Will is one that addresses the standard needs of a person with a small low value estate balance and who may not yet need to add future tax planning and protections for their Wills beneficiaries. A Simple Will you are build with us contains no Testamentary Trusts.
When would I choose a Smart Will over a Protective Will?
A Simple Will might be right for you if you’ve got few assets, no life insurance policies, a small family, and have no inheritances coming your way in the future.
- Many people use Simple Wills if they’re in their first marriage with no kids, and that marriage is happy.
- In this case, the Will Maker usually just wants to give their entire estate to their spouse.
A Simple Will lets the Will Maker do this clearly and concisely without any room for misunderstanding.
However, if you have an estate that in aggregate is over $1,000,000 in value and entitlement and have a number of people to provide for, then a simple will won’t cut it. That’s where a Protective Will come into play.
Pro Tip: As your circumstances change over time, you can always modify and upgrade your Will.
When would I chose a Protective Will over a Smart Will?
A Protective 3-Generation Testamentary Trust Will costs more to build however, it makes it easier for your beneficiaries to escape death duties. If you would rather have a Testamentary Trust as part of your Will, then build a Protective 3-Generation Testamentary Trust Simple Will.
When to consider creating a Protective 3-Generation Testamentary Trust Will
We work with two types of Wills: Protective 3-Generation Testamentary Trust Wills and Simple Non-tax effective Wills.
We refer to them as either Protective or Simple as they each provide varying levels of protection to the beneficiaries of your Will. If you have the budget, it's always better to have a Protective 3-Generation Testamentary Trust Will because it contains these 5 advanced protective measures:
- 3–Generation Testamentary Trusts – reduces CGT, income tax & transfer (stamp) duty
- Super Testamentary Trust – reduces the 17% or 32% tax on Super going to adult children
- Bankruptcy Trusts – helps shield inheritance assets if a beneficiary is bankrupt
- Divorce Protection Trust – helps shield inheritance assets if an adult child separates
- Maintenance Trust – where beneficiaries under 18 years of age or unstable
A Protective Will provides the Will Maker with much more in-depth ways to distribute their estate.
If your family home, superannuation, life insurance and other assets, when combined are over $1m then you clearly need a Protective 3-Generation Testamentary Trust Will. However, if your assets are under $1m then the benefits, while still there, may not be as great.
Looking ahead
How it connects to your other key Estate Planning documents
Modern Estate Planning involves three key decisions that are separately documented in three key legal documents:
- A Power of Attorney
- A Power of Enduring Guardianship, and
- A Will (Simple or Protective)
Important: All three legal documents have specific powers that can only come into affect during different periods of your life.
- A General Power of Attorney is active only while you have your mental capacity.
- A Enduring Power of Attorney only comes into force when you have lost your mental capacity, and another person needs to make medical and lifestyle decisions for you.
- A Will only comes into effect after you have passed away. (Your authority under your Power of Attorney and Power of Guardianship have ceased at this point in time).
This is why it's important to have all three key legal documents in force, so if there are ever unexpected changes to your personal situation that need the legal assistance of another, you have the 3 required documents in place that reflect your own decisions made and activated ahead of time.
Legally speaking: Mental Capacity is an important legal term.
In making an estate planning document, a person must have the mental capacity to know what they are doing. They must know, by their actions, they are making documents that provide their nominated Attorney authority to make important decisions for them why they are alive, and the Executor of their Will, power to distribute their property after death.
What is Secure Document Storage for Estate Planning & Wills?
Permanent (new) document storage available for Sapience Financial clients
Lifetime storage of the physical signed (executed) copies of your Will and POA documents purchased through Sapience Financial is now available to Sapience Financial Clients.
- Your estate planning documents are physically stored with a National Safe Custody Register and your name and address details are added to their database.
- Your documents are allocated a unique number and stored in a separate secure envelope.
- The service will confirm in writing to you when the original signed versions are received and secured by them, and with your permission, a scanned copy can be sent to us for local electronic storage in your Secured Sapience Customer Portal. This can be made available to you via a mobile device app with 2-factor authentication 24/7.
This is a lifetime service where every 5 years the Storage Service will confirm your Executors details for any changes.
Why is Secure Storage included in my Estate Planning process?
Document Authenticity – With your drafted legal documents, you will receive a cover letter signed by the law firm that created your estate planning documents confirming:
- these are drafted by an Australian law firm and valid in all Australian states and territories,
- that the legal advice was provided by a law firm with Client Attorney Privilege and a law firm's Legal Professional Insurance.
Physical Protection – By having the physical signed copies of these documents secured with a National Safe Custody Register, you remove any suggestion of document tampering, document switching or lost legal documents. With secured document storage, you will receive a letter signed by the law firm securing the physical documents confirming:
- your physical documents are securely stored for life and the filing reference number,
- outlining the document access process for your future Executors to follow to access these documents when needed
This service also monitors the national newspaper obituaries to cross reference when a call on the documents may be anticipated. This is a complimentary service and clients are not obliged to use it.
How we can help
Building a Will, either Sart or Protective is an important part of protecting your loved ones and bringing peace of mind that you have an important final piece of your Ultimate Backup Plan in place, just in case.
Contact us for a confidential chat about your needs.
Related: Types of Personal Estate Planning documents we work with
Happy leaving your money to the government?
Every year, Australian tax payers voluntarily pay the Tax Office millions of dollars in “Death Taxes”. Capital Gains Tax earns the Australian Federal Government more money on deceased estates in a single year than in the cumulative history of death duties. Are you going to be one of them? Proper Estate Planning ensures that your estate goes to those you care about, and not the Tax Man.
