Wills & E.P.O.A.
Ensuring that you have in place an up-to-date and valid Will, Power of Attorney, and if necessary an Advanced Health Directive, is vital should the unthinkable happen.
If you are unsure what these documents are or what they do, we encourage you to read through the brief descriptions below:
Will – A legally binding document that outlines your wishes upon passing;
Power of Attorney – This document appoints a person/s to make decisions for you. It can outline the type of decisions to be made, and indicate your intentions with regards to your health and financial affairs should you be unable to make decisions on your own due to incapacitation or lack of capacity; and
Advanced Health Directive – Although this document is similar to a Power of Attorney, where it differs is that is relates only to health decisions and treatment. As this document is often made in consultation with your doctors, should this document be considered necessary we can discuss this with you and your treating medical professional.
To provide as much value as possible to our clients, we offer fixed-fee pricing and discount package options for standard Wills and Powers of Attorney as follows:
Will (Standard)
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We meet with you to obtain your detailed instructions for the preparation of a standard Will. We then draft the document and send it to you for review before arranging a meeting to execute the document. Once signed, you are able to take the original with you or store it with us in safe custody.
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Fixed-Fee: $600.00 (plus GST).
If a ‘Statement of Wishes’ is also needed after consultation with you in the preparation of your Will, this is offered on a fixed-fee basis at $250.00 plus GST.
Singles Package
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We meet with you to obtain your detailed instructions for the preparation of a standard Will and Power of Attorney. We then draft the documents based on those instructions, and send them to you for review before arranging a meeting to go through and execute the documents.
Once signed, you are able to take the originals with you or store them with us in safe custody.
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Fixed-Fee: $900.00 (plus GST).
(valued at $1,050.00 plus GST - saving of $150.00 plus GST)If a ‘Statement of Wishes’ is also needed after consultation with you in the preparation of your Will, this is offered on a fixed-fee basis at $250.00 plus GST.
Enduring Power of Attorney
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We meet with you to obtain your detailed instructions for the preparation of a Enduring Power of Attorney. We then draft the document and send it to you for review before arranging a meeting to execute the document. Once signed, you are able to take the original with you or store it with us in safe custody.
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Fixed-Fee: $450.00 (plus GST).
Couples Wills Package
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We meet with you to obtain your detailed instructions for the preparation of a standard Will for each person individually. However, the Will documents do need to be ‘mirror Wills’, meaning that they are predominately the same in terms of appointments of executors and beneficiaries but with some exceptions such as the leaving of specific gifts. We then draft the documents based on those instructions, and send them to you for review before arranging a meeting to go through and execute the documents.
Once signed, you are able to take the originals with you or store them with us in safe custody.
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Fixed-Fee: $1,050.00 (plus GST).
(valued at $1,200.00 plus GST - saving of $150.00 plus GST)If a ‘Statement of Wishes’ is also needed after consultation with you in the preparation of your Will, this is offered on a fixed-fee basis at $250.00 plus GST.
Advanced Health Directive
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We meet with you to obtain your detailed instructions for the preparation of an Advanced Health Directive. We then draft the document and send it to you for review before arranging a meeting to execute the document. Once signed, you are able to take the original with you or store it with us in safe custody.
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Fixed-Fee: $500.00 (plus GST).
Couples Wills & P.O.A. Package
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We meet with you to obtain your detailed instructions for the preparation of a standard Will and Power of Attorney for each person individually. However, the Will documents do need to be ‘mirror Wills’, meaning that they are predominately the same in terms of appointments of executors and beneficiaries but with some exceptions such as the leaving of specific gifts. We then draft the documents based on those instructions, and send them to you for review before arranging a meeting to go through and execute the documents.
Once signed, you are able to take the originals with you or store them with us in safe custody.
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Fixed-Fee: $1,500.00 (plus GST).
(valued at $2,100.00 plus GST - saving of $600.00 plus GST)If a ‘Statement of Wishes’ is also needed after consultation with you in the preparation of your Will, this is offered on a fixed-fee basis at $250.00 plus GST.
FAQs
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If you do not have a legally valid Will in place at the time of your death, you will be held to have died intestate. This means that before your assets can be distributed, an application will need to be made to the Court. The Court will then decide how and to whom your estate shall be administered.
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Your Executors have the legal and administrative task of sorting out your assets and liabilities (debts) after you pass, while making sure that your wishes as outlined in the Will are upheld.
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You can nominate anyone as a beneficiary and distribute your assets in any way you like, however there is an obligation on you to provide adequately for certain classes of dependants. Failure to provide for these persons adequately may mean your Will is contested by those who have not been provided for.
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You can appoint a trusted individual to look after your children in the event that there is no surviving parent to do so. You should consider this option carefully and discuss this with the proposed guardian prior to appointing them to this role.
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You should review your current Will after any major events, for example marriage, divorce, the purchase or sale of property, death of a beneficiary, or if your assets change significantly. Even if there has been no significant event, we recommend that you take a look at your Will every couple of years to make sure that it is continues to reflect your wishes.
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There are three types of documents used in Queensland to appoint others to make certain decisions on your behalf:
General Power of Attorney;
Enduring Power of Attorney;
Advance Health Directive.
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A general Power of Attorney is a legal document which gives one or more individuals nominated by you, specific authority to make financial decisions on your behalf. This power ceases if you lose the capacity to manage your own affairs. This kind of Power of Attorney is most often used for commercial transactions, such as where you are to be overseas for a prolonged period and require another person to manage your affairs.
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An Enduring Power of Attorney is similar to a general power of attorney, however this document continues to take effect even in the event that you can no longer manage your own affairs. This document also allows you to cover both financial and personal/health decisions, meaning that in the event of an accident or illness which prevents you from continuing to make your own decisions the nominated and appointed person can continue to make decisions on your behalf.
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Advance Health Directives help you plan the type of medical treatment or health care you that you wish to receive in the event that you are too ill to make those kinds of decisions for yourself. This document will also enable you to make any special information known to medical staff, for example allergies to certain medication/s or religious beliefs that impact upon the types of treatments acceptable to you. Without an Advance Health Directive in place, there is no legal means to make your wishes known or provide instructions as to when life sustaining measures should be withheld.