Wills & Estates – McNamara Law

1300 285 888

Looking after tomorrow, today.

Your family's future is our business.

No one knows when illness or an accident might happen.

Who will keep paying your bills or make decisions about your medical treatment?

What will happen to your loved ones and your estate after you have gone?

McNamara Law knows that an expertly written will and a well-planned estate brings true peace of mind for your future. It is one of the most important things you can do for your family’s security.

At McNamara Law, we have a team of dedicated practitioners who practice exclusively in the area of Wills and Estates law. This expert team can assist you in all areas of estate law including:-

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How We Help

preparation of your will
preparation of your enduring power of attorney
preparation of your advanced health directive
creating a testamentary trust in your will
transfer of property or other assets during your lifetime
other effective ways of protecting your assets during your lifetime
advice regarding superannuation and beneficiary nominations

When planning your estate there are so many important factors to take into consideration such as who is the best person to act as executor of your will, who you would like to inherit your assets on your demise, or the consideration of the future wellbeing of your children.

Our experienced estate planning lawyers can help you:

identify the best person to act as executor of your will
consider the future well-being of your children
help you identify your assets and liabilities
manage the distribution of your assets/finances
appoint guardians of your children
establish testamentary trusts in your will
create enduring powers of attorney
create advanced health directives for complex health decisions and lifestyle matters should your capacity to make decisions be lost or become impaired
keep your will/power of attorney/advanced health directives in safe custody at no charge, and will only release with appropriate authority
transfer property or other assets during your lifetime to defeat claims that may be anticipated to be made against your estate after your death
provide advice regarding superannuation and beneficiary nominations
review of your companies and/or Trusts and provide advice regarding the setup of such entities and the assets they own when considering your estate plan.

McNamara Law with their experienced and friendly staff, can guide you through the process of planning for the future for your loved ones and friends.

Frequently asked questions

Q: What if I do not have a will?

A: If you do not have a will at the time of your death, then it is said that you have died “intestate”. The laws of intestacy then apply to determine who will benefit from your estate. Who that beneficiary, or beneficiaries, will be depends largely on your circumstances as at the date of your demise – whether you have a spouse or you are single, whether you have children or you do not. Often the laws of intestacy will mean that assets such as homes will be required to be sold when it may be your intention for the loved ones you have left behind to be able to live in the home.

You should never leave something so important to chance. Having an effective estate plan in place, which might be as simple as having a will, will be the best way that you can make sure your assets end up where you want them to, with minimal expense and delay.

If you pass away without a will, this is costly to your estate due to the fact that an application is required to be made to the Supreme Court of Queensland to appoint an administrator (similar role to that of an executor named in a will) given that you do not have a will appointing an executor.

Q: What is a testamentary trust?

A: A testamentary trust is established under a will but it does not come into effect until after the death of the will maker. Incorporating a trust within your will can provide significant flexibility, along with asset protection and tax minimisation for your intended beneficiaries.

A testamentary trust differs from that of a normal will because under the testamentary trust the trustee has the discretion to distribute capital and income between a group of beneficiaries named in your will. Including a wide number of potential beneficiaries will give greater flexibility to the trustee when distributing estate assets.

The benefits of a Testamentary Trust can include:-

Better protection of assets for the intended beneficiaries who may be facing family law proceedings, at risk of being made bankrupt, have an addiction to drugs or alcohol or gambling, be spendthrifts, etc.
Flexibility for your beneficiaries
Tax benefits

It is important to consider the ongoing administrative costs involved in maintaining a testamentary trust, such as accountancy fees, as well as whether the income generated by your estate would be sufficient to warrant a testamentary trust. Our team of wills and estates lawyers can provide advice as to whether a testamentary trust is for you and help you consider whether the costs associated with the preparation and administration of a testamentary trust are economical in your circumstances.

Q: What is the difference between a power of attorney and an advanced health directive?

A: Power of Attorney:

A power of attorney is a legal document which gives another person the authority to make personal and financial decisions on your behalf.

Personal decisions include:

where you live
who you live with
giving consent for any medical treatment

Financial decisions mean the management of your finances including:

payment of all accounts
all tax requirements
decisions regarding the purchasing and selling of property
payment of general everyday expenses
reporting to Centerlink on your behalf

An advanced health directive is a legal document in which you specify what should happen if your health deteriorates or you become incapacitated and you are no longer able to make decisions for yourself. In an advanced health directive, you are able to leave instructions regarding more complex medical treatment.

If you specify your medical preferences in an advanced health directive then you are taking the power away from your appointed attorney to have the discretion on that particular decision.

When you lose a loved one, often uncertainty follows as what to do regarding their estate.

If you have been named the executor of a will, or appointed administrator, you don’t have to do it alone. McNamara’s Law offer experienced estate experts who can give precise advice to help and guide you through this difficult time of administering a deceased estate.

We will help you liaise with valuers, financial personnel and institutions etc. ensuring the administration of the estate is efficiently undertaken.

The process of estate administration can be far from simple and usually deals with issues such as:

was there a current will?
does Probate/Letters of Administration need to be applied for?
was the will valid?
did the person have capacity when making the will?
if a claim upon the estate is made, what course of action should be taken?
how is the funeral paid for?
are the beneficiaries named in the will properly entitled to the estate?
how do you deal with superannuation and life insurance policies?
how do you pay debts from the estate?
how do you transfer property to beneficiaries?
how to distribute all other assets to the beneficiaries?
what are the tax implications for the beneficiaries?
applications for probate/letters of administration
collection of estate assets
application for consideration of payment of superannuation benefits
transfer of property to beneficiaries or executors
payment of estate liabilities
distribution of net estate assets to beneficiaries

Estate Litigation

negotiate on your behalf if you have been left out of, or provided for unfairly, in a will of a loved one
court applications to contest a will due to lack of provision, undue influence or lack of capacity
mediations
protecting your interests on settlement of a negotiated claim

Frequently asked question

Q: When can I have access to assets that have been left to me in a will?

A: You as a beneficiary have no right to any of the deceased parties’ property or assets until the executor of the will distributes the assets of the deceased after all debt of the deceased has been paid. You can as a beneficiary take legal action against the executor if they fail to distribute the estate of the deceased in a timely and efficient manner. It is important to note that there are also certain time frames imposed on executors as to when they are allowed to attend to a distribution of the estate. You should contact us if you need to know more about these timeframes.

Q: We need to appoint and administrator for a will. What does this mean?

A: An administrator is appointed by the Supreme Court. A Grant of Letters of Administration needs to be filed and issued by the Supreme Court.

Usually an administrator is appointed when a person has died without a will (intestacy); a will has been left with no executors appointed; or when the executors appointed by the will cannot or will not act on the deceased behalf.

Once the administrator has been appointed they act in the same way as an executor of a will. The administrator’s duty is to collect all information regarding property and assets, pay all debts owed by the deceased and distribute the balance to the beneficiaries, as per the deceased wishes if a valid will has been left, or according to the rules of intestacy in the event there is no will.

Until you have lost a family member you may not necessarily understand the action of Probate and Letters of Administration.

Probate

Probate is applied for and granted by the Supreme Court. It gives validation to the executor of a will, giving them authority to perform their duty to administer the estate of the deceased under the terms of the last will. Most financial institutions and share registries will ask for probate before the release of any funds to the estate. This probate application process can be long and tedious, taking approximately 3 months minimum in most applications.

Letters of Administration

A Grant of Letters of Administration is a grant issued by the Supreme Court to appoint an administrator of the estate. Usually, an administrator is appointed when a person has died without a will (called intestacy), a will has been left with no executors appointed, or when the executors appointed by the will cannot or will not act on the deceased behalf.

Once the administrator has been appointed, they act in the same way as an executor of the will. The administrators duty is to collect all information regarding property and assets; pay all debts owed by the deceased; and distribute the balance to the beneficiaries as per the deceased wishes if a valid will has been left or pursuant to the rules of intestacy if there is no will.

Frequently asked questions

Q: Do I need to apply for probate?

A: If you have been appointed the executor of an estate you should firstly collect all relevant information regarding estate assets and contact financial institutions to ascertain the size of the asset pool.

You may not need to apply for probate if:

the value of the Assets are insignificant
the real estate is owned in joint names as joint tenants, therefore the asset is already owned by the surviving joint owner.

Q: Who can apply for a grant of letters of administration?

A: There are a number of people that may apply to be an administrator of a will however it is dependent on whether the person died with or without a will.

If you have been left out of a Will or insufficiently provided for, it is vitally important that you seek the help of a law firm that is experienced in estate litigation matters.

McNamara Law can not only provide you with expert legal advice, but also offer a no-obligation consultation to find out where you stand.

Have you been left out of a will?

There are often very good reasons why a person should be contesting an estate such as:

you’ve been left out of the will
you’ve been unfairly provided for
the will is not valid
the executor/administrator was negligent
there is no will
the testator was unduly influenced or pressured to make the will
the testator did not have capacity to understand the will

Frequently asked questions

Q: For what reasons can I contest a will for provision?

A: In Queensland you can contest a will if you are:

an eligible person (see below) and
you believe that you have been unfairly provided for out of the estate of the deceased

The court can consider many factors, when considering your dispute over the will, these being:

your relationship with the deceased
the size of the estate
the financial position of all beneficiaries
any support you had received from the deceased during his/her life
any written statements written by the deceased stating how he/she would like to divide their estate
your standard of living and what you were accustomed to before the deceased’s death
any contribution you made to the deceased’s estate

Q: Who is eligible to contest a will?

A: To contest a will in Queensland you need to satisfy one or more of the following:

The deceased’s spouse:

husband/wife
defacto partner
civil partner
former husband, wife civil partner financially dependent of deceased

The deceased’s child:

biological child
unborn child
lawfully adopted child
stepchild; and/or

The deceased’s dependant:

parent
parent of a child of the deceased (providing the child is under 18 years)
any person who is significantly dependant of the deceased and is under the age of 18 years e.g. grandchild, step grandchild, brother, sister, niece, nephew or foster child)

In order for any person to be a “dependant” they must have been dependant of the deceased person at the date of the deceased person’s death.

A Will can also be contested for other reasons which include but aren’t limited to the following:-

you believe the last will to be invalid due to the testator lacking the requisite capacity when the will was made
you believe the last will to be invalid due to the testator being unduly influenced or pressured when the will was made
the will contents is in breach of a contract or promise between yourself and the deceased. If any of the above scenarios are applicable to your situation, please contact our office today on 13 58 28 to arrange a no-obligation consultation with one of our expert wills and estates lawyers. Strict timeframes apply to claims!

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CLIENT TESTIMONIALS

“Since 1923 McNamara Law have been looking after all the legal needs of the people and businesses in the Ipswich and the Lockyer Valley. The success of our ﬁrm has been built on providing comprehensive and eﬀective legal advice to individuals and businesses in the respective”

Please pass on my gratitude to Joshua for his honesty and spending time to look at my matter. What he has done may not have been much to him but carries a lot of weight with folk like myself who were brought up in 'Old School' values! I won't hesitate to recommend Joshua to represent any of my neighbours or friends. Thanks again and Kindest Regards!

I must say Michele it is refreshing to come across someone on the other side who is so helpful. McNamara Law certainly have an excellent ambassador in you.

I would like to take this opportunity in thanking each and every one of you for the professional manner in which my father's estate was managed. It certainly was greatly appreciated.

Dear Ruth, On behalf of myself, Shane and Kym I would like to thank you for all you have done for us. Even now I don't think we quite believe it was sorted out. Thank You again to yourself and Karen.

Thank you for representing me through the last couple of months in this fight with work cover. I appreciate your professionalism and personal touch. I think that you are an asset to McNamara Law. I will be recommending McNamara Law to anyone I meet seeking legal help. Thank you again for your hard work and without hyperbole your actions have literally been life-changing for myself.

On behalf of Sue, me and the kids, thanks Jeremy for getting us through a very difficult time in our lives. The crew there were always helpful and made us all feel like we were a part of the “Macca” family.

Rebekah, I can’t thank you enough for how much you’ve helped. I know it’s what you do every day but how much It impacts grieving people is incredible. You are so good at your job. Amazing actually!!! You are helping us deal with grieving more than you know. You are a true champion. Mum said Thanks so much xx she kept crying at the relief it has given her. Thanks again xx

Excellent service and communication through the entire process. Very friendly helpful staff who gave us very good legal advice and guidance. Highly recommend to anyone.

Approachable, marvellous attention to detail, prompt response to requests and above all, a simple approach to all aspects of the matters in hand.

Fantastic service and attitude from all members of the team!

Dear Joshua and staff, I would like to thank you for all your hard work involved with helping me with my work related issue. I could not fault you or your staff in any way. It was very good to deal with people who are courteous and pleasant in their work environment. Once again, many thanks.

Dear Josh, just wanting to thank you again for your hard work to get this positive result today. I thought our luck had nearly run out, but your hard work has given us hope again to keeping Jessie’s dream alive. So once again I thank you

McNamara Law provided superb yet sensitive service on the finalisation of my father’s estate. A somewhat difficult time was made much easier by the prompt, informative and helpful assistance from all those that we came in contact with the firm. Thanks to McNamara Law and especially Bekky for her assistance!

Get In Touch

Contact us to discuss your situation and best course of action. We understand your time is valuable and oﬀer consultations via Zoom, Skype, Microsoft Teams or phone call. Let McNamara Law help you ﬁnd your legal solution today!

Ipswich (07) 3816 9555

Springﬁeld (07) 3470 3600

Gatton (07) 5462 1566

Your families future is our business

Practic Areas

Latest News

Queensland’s changes to the State’s defamation laws

July 9, 2021

On 1 July 2021 Queensland introduced significant changes to the State’s defamation laws. The changes are described as the ‘model provisions’ and are similar with

1300 285 888

Looking after tomorrow, today.

Your family's future is our business.

Ready to makea start?

DOWNLOAD OUR WILLS AND ESTATES LAW GUIDESFOR MORE INFORMATION

How We Help

Our experienced estate planning lawyers can help you:

Frequently asked questions

The benefits of a Testamentary Trust can include:-

Personal decisions include:

Financial decisions mean the management of your finances including:

I Want To

Manage my superannuation

Obtain compensation

Buy a house

CLIENT TESTIMONIALS

Get In Touch

Your families future is our business

Links

Practic Areas

Latest News

Queensland’s changes to the State’s defamation laws

Ready to make
a start?

DOWNLOAD OUR WILLS AND ESTATES LAW GUIDES
FOR MORE INFORMATION