Make sure your wealth reaches the people you intend, controlled by the people you trust — whatever happens to you.
Short answers to the questions we hear most. Every family is different, so the Stress Test shows how they apply to yours.
A Will alone often isn't enough. In Victoria a partner, stepchild and others can apply for a share of your estate, and super, jointly owned property and family trust assets don't follow your Will at all. Protecting your children's inheritance means lining up every asset, not just the Will.
Read the full answer →Yes. A spouse or partner, children, stepchildren and, in some cases, grandchildren or members of your household can apply for provision from your estate. Claims must generally be made within 6 months of the grant of probate.
Who can challenge →If you leave everything to your partner outright, they can later change their Will and leave it to a new partner or their own children. Life interests, testamentary trusts and mutual Wills agreements are some of the ways families deal with this.
Blended families →Not automatically. Super is paid by the fund's trustee, guided by the fund's deed and any death benefit nomination. A missing, lapsed or invalid nomination can send it somewhere you didn't intend.
Super and your Will →Your trust deed decides that, not your Will. Control usually passes through the appointor and trustee roles, so the deed's succession clauses matter more than most people realise.
Trust control explained →If you're the only director, nobody can sign for the company until someone is appointed, which can freeze bank accounts and stall the business. Successor arrangements and an enduring power of attorney close that gap.
Keeping the company running →If you have an enduring power of attorney, your attorney can generally take your place as trustee or director so the fund remains an SMSF. Without one, your family may need a tribunal order before anyone can act.
SMSF and loss of capacity →Often, yes. An inheritance can be structured so it's much harder for a child's former partner or creditors to reach, and kept in the family for your grandchildren. The right approach depends on your family and how your assets are held.
What's possible →Find the gaps first. You decide at every step whether to go further.
Tick your situation, answer plain-English questions and get a scored report. Send it to us when you finish.
Free · 10 minutesA 30-minute phone or Zoom call on your main gaps and what a full review would involve.
Free · 30 minutesWe review your actual documents and give you a written report of your options and their consequences.
Quoted after your reviewQuestions adapt to your situation — a blended family, a business, a trust or an SMSF each add their own. Your answers stay in your browser unless you choose to send them.
Start the Stress TestOnce you know the gaps, these are the tools we use to close them. Legal documents are drafted by LY Legal.
Testamentary and family trust structures that keep inheritances separate from a child's own assets.
Learn more →Arrangements so someone can sign, bank and decide if you die or lose capacity.
Learn more →Align your fund's deed, nominations and trustee succession with the rest of your plan.
Learn more →Roles that stop key trust and SMSF decisions being made without the right people agreeing.
Learn more →Restructure loans and ownership so business or personal claims can't reach family wealth as easily.
Learn more →We set out your options and the tax and legal consequences of each. Every stage is quoted in writing before work starts.
How we work →Most families assume their structures work until a death, a loss of capacity or a family dispute shows otherwise. It takes ten minutes to find out.