Wills and EPOA

The Coronavirus is having a massive impact on society. Many of our clients, Australians and people across the globe are concerned for their own safety and that of their family. We are asking ourselves a whole range of questions including: What happens if I or one of my family get the virus? Will it spiral out of control? What about the elderly members of the family over age 60 who seem to be more susceptible? We don’t have answers to these questions but what we do know is that it is vital to ensure, while fit, competent and able that you safeguard your financial affairs by giving a spouse, relative or close associate your enduring power of attorney (EPOA). This enables your EPOA to act on your behalf if you become sick, are quarantined for a long time or become incapable of managing your financial or health affairs. In addition, your EPOA may be given the power to take your position as trustee of a self-managed super fund if your deed allows. Each State has its own EPOA legal requirements which we are fully aware of. If you are a business owner using a Company, it is vital that you have an EPOA and the appropriate Resolution prepared and signed so that a replacement Director can instantly be appointed to run your business while you are quarantined or incapacitated. Apart from an EPOA, it is also important to put in place a Will or revisit your Will if it has not been updated in the last two years. The Coronavirus shows us that change can happen quickly and we must prepare for change. A great safeguard right now is to put in place an Enduring Power of Attorney and create/update your Will and that of your closest loved ones. So many young families have neither document, relying on the Courts to solve these issues, yet the Courts may be quarantined or closed. We have teamed up with Lawyers and specialist estate planning advisers Abbott & Mourly to provide an EPOA and Wills package in these challenging times. We have been suggesting it for clients when we do our annual review meetings, but now see the absolute importance of immediately implementing it for all of our clients and their families.

The person who you nominate as your EPOA can also be the Executor of your Will to ensure safety, certainty, security and continuity. It may be more than one – known as joint EPOAs and Executors. The person or persons you choose will look after your financial, health and super affairs in the event of an illness or anxiety should you so choose. In addition, they will be tasked as Executor with looking after your estate upon your death, managing any of your specific gifts such as property going to one or more family members, jewelry to grandchildren and well anything you desire. They can also limit any disposition of your estate to your lineage – which is your direct descendants or to bloodline only which may include brothers and sisters in the event that a main or specific beneficiary is not alive.

Abbott & Mourly Lawyers advise that you should provide a successor EPOA and Executor in case, when the time comes, the person or persons you appointed cannot or might not want to take up the role you have endowed upon them.

It does not hurt to have a second successor EPOA and Executor. Safety, certainty and security are paramount. If something happens, we want to make sure your family are looked after quickly.