General Estate Planning issues (Wills, PoA, AHDs)

[love_the_life]

So there are serious issues with the Public Trustee Australia wide and we focus on totally meaningless issues.

There's also huge issues with nursing homes and we focus on totally meaningless issues.

I’m not sure what you’re getting at. Who is focusing on meaningless issues? There is a RC into nursing homes starting.

 

[JohnK]

I’m not sure what you’re getting at. Who is focusing on meaningless issues? There is a RC into nursing homes starting.

Government! Society in general.

The Royal Commission is a great idea but probably 20-30 years too late. The bullies and thiefs need to be taught a lesson.

 

[Pushka]

Government! Society in general.

The Royal Commission is a great idea but probably 20-30 years too late. The bullies and thiefs need to be taught a lesson.

Humans tend to leave lots of things in life until it’s too late.

 

[Buzzard]

There’s a Royal Commission starting today looking at aged care.

And probably like the bank version it will be a joke.

 

[get me outta here]

In the Money section of the SMH today there’s a little article about wills. They quoted 2 very interesting examples of how the opposite of what you wanted can happen, esp when you don’t update the will. In one instance, all the money passed out of the family to someone else’s family.

 

[pagingjoan]

In the Money section of the SMH today there’s a little article about wills. They quoted 2 very interesting examples of how the opposite of what you wanted can happen, esp when you don’t update the will. In one instance, all the money passed out of the family to someone else’s family.

Missed this yesterday and can't pick it up with a search on SMH.
Would you have a reference or a link, please?

 

[get me outta here]

I did try to find it online too, but also couldn't find it. If I do, I'll put it up. Anyone still got the paper?

Missed this yesterday and can't pick it up with a search on SMH.
Would you have a reference or a link, please?

 

[pagingjoan]

I did try to find it online too, but also couldn't find it. If I do, I'll put it up. Anyone still got the paper?

Thanks for trying.
Strange that it doesn’t come up on a search.

 

[coriander]

i agree with all the comments in the thread above of about having a will, having it up to date (ours were 30 years old) and having it prepared by specialist solicitor .

I've now been in hospital 7 out of the last 9 weeks, and while we did have wills we had them looked at to bring them into the 21st century.

We have now rewritten the wills - beneficiaries haven't changed but we have set up testamentary trusts to make sure that our children get the money and that the money is protected from any future relationship failure that our children might have.

We have also set up all the necessary powers of attorney for both Mrs C and I.

Cost will be about $4k all up but everything is now locked down and correct legally.

I have given the family a spreadsheet with all my accounts, their logons and passwords .

Last and probably least, I've transferred 600k of QFF points (max allowed per year) to my sons. This still leaves me with over a million points.

I'm still trying to decide what to do with ~700k Amex Ascent points and 300k KF points .

I'm still hoping I can get to use them but will have a plan B to move them somwhere else (VA? to me then to family by transfer?) .

@JohnK, plan now, you don't know what's going to happen tomorrow - I'm shocked at the mess I would have left my family if I'd died in the last 6 weeks.

 

[love_the_life]

Coriander, a lesson for all of us. Our wills need revisiting I’m sure.
Hope you are on the road to recovery and soon able to use those points.

 

[cove]

Nice post coriander!
I do hope you can defeat adversity.
Our financial discussions with our 2 sons are a source of mirth.
I was asked about where Mrscove’s jewellery could get sold shortly after and where was a great place to sell art treasures and antiques. They are not sentimental.......

 

[Pushka]

i agree with all the comments in the thread above of about having a will, having it up to date (ours were 30 years old) and having it prepared by specialist solicitor .

I've now been in hospital 7 out of the last 9 weeks, and while we did have wills we had them looked at to bring them into the 21st century.

We have now rewritten the wills - beneficiaries haven't changed but we have set up testamentary trusts to make sure that our children get the money and that the money is protected from any future relationship failure that our children might have.

We have also set up all the necessary powers of attorney for both Mrs C and I.

Cost will be about $4k all up but everything is now locked down and correct legally.

I have given the family a spreadsheet with all my accounts, their logons and passwords .

Last and probably least, I've transferred 600k of QFF points (max allowed per year) to my sons. This still leaves me with over a million points.

I'm still trying to decide what to do with ~700k Amex Ascent points and 300k KF points .

I'm still hoping I can get to use them but will have a plan B to move them somwhere else (VA? to me then to family by transfer?) .

@JohnK, plan now, you don't know what's going to happen tomorrow - I'm shocked at the mess I would have left my family if I'd died in the last 6 weeks.

Thinking of you and even in the midst of your health battles you have ensured your family members have been taken care of which of course we all want to do.

I really hope you get to spend those points on yourself meaning that you regain health and can travel again safely.

A timely reminder. We have changed a few things in our affairs and I really need to update all our finances and passwords etc. If only I could remember all those passwords....

And we will be making massive changes come October then off to Egypt for Christmas so everything needs to be done well.

A question for those who have grandchildren. How have people handled that? Leave it all to the children to sort out? If married, are those spouses included in their own right?

 

[coriander]

How have people handled that? Leave it all to the children to sort out? If married, are those spouses included in their own right

Investigate testamentary trusts. Whilst we have no grandchildren, these testamentary trusts can serve to quarantine benefits only to the beneficiary and don't become part of any amount that would be included in a relationship breakdown. You can use the trust to say that funds don't become available till grandchild hits 25yo for example.

All in all they seem a versatile means of ensuring to a greater degree than before that your wishes will be followed to the letter without 3rd parties getting their sticky fingers on the funds.

I found Google didn't really help me understand testamentary trusts, but a bedside chat with our solicitor showing how it would work in our family situation was 20 minutes well spent. This solicitor is not our family solicitor (whom we still retain) but was another partner in firm who specialises in heritance issues.

I'm much more content now that this is all set up.

@cove We're not into jewellery but I had to point out to the kids that a collection of {old & rusty in their opinion} steam loco number plates I picked up for low hundreds are now worth $5k + each. Don't fling a BMW M3 in the dumper, guys!

 

[coriander]

Thinking of you and even in the midst of your health battles you have ensured your family members have been taken care of which of course we all want to do.

I can't claim credit here. I've inflicted massive stress on Mrs C with the disarray; she has been an absolute legend and has coordinated meetings with accountants, financial planners and solicitors to bring our paperwork into order and up to date and bulletproof. Although very cross with me at the time as she delved into our affairs at the same time as the busiest and most stressful project she's had to manage at her work, she has done all the work whilst I just lie here, doing nuffin'. As I said above, we are so "lucky" we have had time to get our affairs in order (a glib phrase but oh so important).

I punched WAY above my weight when I married her.

 

[Pushka]

I don’t like the sound of your health issues Coriander

 

[Flying mermaid]

Thinking of you and even in the midst of your health battles you have ensured your family members have been taken care of which of course we all want to do.

I really hope you get to spend those points on yourself meaning that you regain health and can travel again safely.

A timely reminder. We have changed a few things in our affairs and I really need to update all our finances and passwords etc. If only I could remember all those passwords....

And we will be making massive changes come October then off to Egypt for Christmas so everything needs to be done well.

A question for those who have grandchildren. How have people handled that? Leave it all to the children to sort out? If married, are those spouses included in their own right?

I agree with testamentary trusts. Ours leaves to the kids and their children, so assets are protected against relationship changes and will flow onto grandchildren. We have one testamentary trust for the 3kids, rather than 3 different ones. Mainly did that as we feel Ms FM will possibly need a greater share than the other two, but this way if she doesn’t then they all benefit equally, if she does then (hopefully) they can direct a greater share of income to her. I trust the 3 of them to work together, but it can get messy so friends have gone with the independent trust route. A combined trust does offer greater protection in relationship changes as well.

We have a clause that when the last child dies, the trust is wound up and split across remaining grandchildren.

On the subject of preparation, after I gave statins the boot on Monday, I made a list of all relevant passwords and ids and various other instructions and put them in the safe and then taught Mr FM the code to the safe.

While I feel 100% healthy, getting to the age where you never know.

Do hope @coriander that all goes well and improves for you.

 

[coriander]

While I feel 100% healthy.......

Yep, that's where I was till just before Christmas. How fast things can change, but stuff is looking up.
I suppose now I've outed myself, I should contribute to the medical issues thread. Have to think about that.
I also have a 2yo TR ready to go which I haven't uploaded, but I will because I've just got one of these:

No excuses now!

 

[JohnK]

@JohnK, plan now, you don't know what's going to happen tomorrow - I'm shocked at the mess I would have left my family if I'd died in the last 6 weeks.

Sorry to hear about your health issues. Dad spent over 2 months in hospital last year and just when he started to get better he's back in hospital.

I'll investigate testamentary trusts. Sounds like a good solution.

 

[Pushka]

I agree with testamentary trusts. Ours leaves to the kids and their children, so assets are protected against relationship changes and will flow onto grandchildren. We have one testamentary trust for the 3kids, rather than 3 different ones. Mainly did that as we feel Ms FM will possibly need a greater share than the other two, but this way if she doesn’t then they all benefit equally, if she does then (hopefully) they can direct a greater share of income to her. I trust the 3 of them to work together, but it can get messy so friends have gone with the independent trust route. A combined trust does offer greater protection in relationship changes as well.

We have a clause that when the last child dies, the trust is would up and split across remaining grandchildren.

On the subject of preparation, after I gave statins the boot on Monday, I made a list of all relevant passwords and ids and various other instructions and put them in the safe and then taught Mr FM the code to the safe.

While I feel 100% healthy, getting to the age where you never know.

Do hope @coriander that all goes well and improves for you.

So is there a need to change the trust if another grandchild appears?

 

[Flying mermaid]

So is there a need to change the trust if another grandchild appears?

no we don’t have any at the moment, it is all couched in terms like “heirs of their bodies” or something like that.