It is true that we don’t like thinking about and planning for what happens when we pass away. However, failing to plan for the future can have a negative impact on you and those closest to you.
Our team of qualified solicitors can help you to think about setting up your will and go through the process of future planning so you can have a say about what happens when you die.
These services are free for people with intellectual disability that live in New South Wales. You will find more information below about wills, estates and trusts and future planning.
A will is a document that records what you want to happen to your property after you die.
Anyone who is over 18 years old can make a will provided they know what a will is, have a general understanding of the amount and kind of property in the will and are able to evaluate the moral claims that they ought to consider in making their will.
Parents can indicate in their wills who they wish to act as the guardian of their children. The guardian’s powers only apply until the child reaches 18 years of age.
Put simply, a person’s ‘estate’ is the whole of the property the person owns. It may include land, buildings, animals, jewellery, shares, bonds, patents, copyrights and many other things.
After a person dies, all the things they owned at the time they died need to be identified and valued. The person’s debts need to be paid from the estate. Then the property that is left needs to be distributed. The distribution of the estate depends on:
- whether there is a will, and
- the nature of the estate.
Sometimes, a person with a disability may think that they have not been adequately provided for from the estate of someone they depended on, usually a parent. The person may be able to apply to the Supreme Court for an order that the person be better provided for from the estate.
We all prefer to make our own decisions about our personal lives and our finances but what happens if we become unable to make those decisions for ourselves? We may lose our ability to make decisions due to illness or injury.
Future planning means making decisions about the future while you are still capable of making those decisions for yourself; you can decide who should be your guardian or financial manager in the event that you become unable to make your own lifestyle or financial decisions.
Two important ways the law in NSW allows people to plan ahead for their own future are by appointing:
- An enduring guardian and/or
- An attorney under an enduring power of attorney
Thinking about your future can be confronting and often it can take some time to work through and be confident with the decisions you have made. IDRS can help you start to think about these things.
