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Family Protections
Our Wills look after your family as much as your wealth.
Crisis Protection
Our focus at Will Wizard® is to provide Wills that aim to help protect family members and their inherited assets long term.
One the ways we do this is to include special crisis provisions.
These special provisions come into effect when a beneficiary experiences some kind of personal or financial crisis such as a relationship or marriage ending, a mental breakdown, a drug addiction, being sued or having a business fail.
The executor is able to temporarily remove the beneficiary as trustee (the controller) of their testamentary trust, distancing them from their inherited assets when it could be under heightened risk from third party claims or poor decision making.
Beneficiaries going through a crisis will still have access to funds for living, health, education and welfare expenses until the crisis has passed.
Once the crisis has passed, the beneficiary can resume full control over their inheritance.
Given the many issues these crisis provisions help protect against, the statistical probability that you, your spouse or partner, or one of your children or grandchildren will need these provisions to protect their inherited assets at some point during their life is incredibly high.
Inheritance Controlling Age
Protecting family wealth from poor decision making is one of Will Wizard’s® primary goals.
One of the ways we do this is by providing the option for Will owners to nominate a more mature controlling age that a beneficiary must obtain in order for them to gain full autonomous control over their inheritance.
For example a controlling age of 25 or 30 years rather than 18 years of age.
This is an important protection that allows young beneficiaries to have access to their inheritance for education, housing and general welfare purposes, while limiting the risk of young beneficiaries making poor financial decisions with their inheritance.
Guardianship Of Young Children
While it is hard to consider, if the worst was to occur and your children were left without parents, who would you want to take care of them?
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It’s no secret that all parents would want the Courts (who have the final decision) to understand their preference, whether that means family members or long term friends.
Will Wizard® includes clear guardianship provisions to strengthen the probability that the right people are chosen to take care of your children should you be unable to.
Will Wizard customers are provided the opportunity to nominate single guardians, or multiple guardians to share responsibility, and to nominate second choice guardians in case first choice guardians are unable or unwilling to act.
While the final decision is up to the courts, it is important that the courts understand who the parent’s preference is. ​
Child Beneficiaries
Will Wizard® includes specific provisions dealing with the trusts for young children.
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This is a critical measure to assist executors manage and/or allocate the income of a child’s inheritance until the child has attained 18 years of age (or a later controlling age if one is set by the Will Owner).
This important measure ensures the child receives the proper level of support and maintenance that the Will Owner would want for their child up until they are ready to assume personal control.
A further provision is also included to ensure younger children don’t have to pay for the types of outlays (i.e. special school trips or sporting events) their parents paid during their lifetimes for elder siblings.
Direct Descendants Only
Will Wizard® is all about keeping wealth in the family.
This is why we make it clear that only lineal descendants (i.e. the children and grand-children of primary beneficiaries) inherit.
Will Wizard also provides list of discretionary beneficiaries to allow for a trustee/primary beneficiary to share income as a way of taking advantage of the tax minimisation opportunities offered to beneficiaries of testamentary trusts.
Please note: If you have certain complexities such as family members with a disability, an addiction issue, have complex business interests or are part of a blended family we suggest you seek the advice of a experienced estate planning solicitor. If you are unsure about any of the information provided here please seek professional advice or contact us.