Estate planning is more than deciding who gets what when you die

Like most of our clients, you’re probably working hard to build your assets to make sure that you and your family have nothing to worry about financially. All this hard work building your estate is more than an income stream; it’s an asset. Like any asset, your estate needs a strategy.

These days, it’s necessary to consider a wide range of issues including the impact of taxation, protection from creditors, government social security regulations, and family law. Also, amendments to bankruptcy legislation necessitate a fresh look at asset protection.

Hayes Knight Queensland advisers can work with you and your other professional advisors to ensure that plans are put in place to assist you with wealth creation, preservation and ultimate distribution to your desired beneficiaries.

Successful estate planning and asset protection is a result of attention to detail and a planned co-ordination effort of experts in taxation, accounting and superannuation.

To find out more about Hayes Knight can assist you, please contact Ken Robertson.

Death and Taxes are certain… but you can RIP (and reduce the tax) with Professional Estate Planning

Some legal advisors are good at drafting wills… they look at the legal aspects but don’t necessarily look at the tax implications.

We recently had a situation where a client’s family company owed one of the shareholder/director’s approx $600,000. This client’s legal advisor had proposed that the loan be forgiven in the shareholder’s will. The consequence of this was that the loan, which could be repaid to the shareholder at any time ‘tax free’, would now be a ‘taxable dividend’.

Had we not stepped in with our effective Estate Planning advice, the end result would have meant that when the loan was repaid, the tax payable would have been in the vicinity of $250,000!

And then there’s Super to consider… More>