Joint tenants and Tenants in common

There are two ways that people can co-own property: joint tenancy and tenancy in common. Joint tenancy A joint tenancy is where two or more people have an equal undivided interest in the property. In a joint tenancy, all owners together own the whole of the property – they do not own distinctive shares. The […]

Someone I know has died without a will and with no relatives, what happens now?

It’s unusual, but sometimes a person dies without a will and without any relatives who would be entitled to the estate under the rules of intestacy. So what happens to their estate? In the last few years we have seen a few of these cases – generally involving individuals who have migrated to Australia many […]

Tax treatment of superannuation death benefit payments

What are superannuation death benefits? Superannuation death benefits payments consist of the member’s super balance (less any appropriate charges and taxes) plus any life insurance they may have had. Who can apply for payment of superannuation death benefits? Superannuation death benefits don’t form part of a person’s estate unless there is a binding death benefit […]

Gifting your superannuation benefits when you die

Despite common misconceptions, your superannuation doesn’t automatically form part of your estate when you die. Superannuation death benefits are held by the trustee of the fund who can pay the benefits to your dependants or to your estate in accordance with the rules of the fund and any binding death benefit nomination in place at […]

What happens to your family trust when you die or lose capacity?

The assets owned by trusts do not form part of your estate and are not dealt with under your Will. You can’t use your Will to gift assets in the family trust to your loved ones. The trust continues after you or any of the other beneficiaries die, and the assets will continue to be […]

What happens to your family trust after you die?

If you assumed that the assets in your family trust are gifted to your loved ones under your Will, you wouldn’t be alone. However, it’s actually more complicated than that. Assets which are legally owned by the trustee of a discretionary family trust will not form part of your estate on your death. The task […]