Estate & Succession Planning

Protecting your legacy for every stage of life

Estate planning is about far more than writing a Will. It is about ensuring your legacy is passed on exactly as you intend by protecting the people you love, safeguarding the assets you have worked hard to build, and minimising stress and conflict for your family when you are gone.

At Millar Trost Legal, we provide strategic estate planning advice for clients at every life stage. Whether you are newly married, welcoming a child, purchasing a home, or planning for retirement. We take the time to understand your personal circumstances, family dynamics, and financial position to create a plan that truly reflects your wishes.

Wills

A properly drafted Will is the foundation of any estate plan. We will prepare a Will that not only reflects your personal wishes but also considers the circumstances of your beneficiaries, including how the gifting of assets may affect them, to minimise the risk of future disputes or unintended consequences.

Testamentary Trusts

For many people, particularly those with minor children, blended families, or significant assets, a testamentary trust offers important advantages over a simple Will. A testamentary trust is created within your Will and comes into effect upon your death, allowing assets to be held and managed by a trustee rather than distributed directly to beneficiaries. Key benefits of a testamentary trust include:

Protection for vulnerable beneficiaries, including minors, those with special needs, or individuals at risk of financial mismanagement
Potential tax advantages, including access to standard adult tax rates for minor beneficiaries receiving trust income
Asset protection from creditors, bankruptcy, and relationship breakdowns
Control over how and when beneficiaries receive their inheritance
Protection of family wealth across generations, including in blended family situations

Whether a testamentary trust is right for you depends on your family situation, assets, and the needs of your beneficiaries. We will help you weigh the benefits and complexities so you can make an informed decision.

Enduring Power of Attorney

Planning for incapacity is just as important as planning for death. An Enduring Power of Attorney (EPOA) allows you to appoint a trusted person to make personal, health, and financial decisions on your behalf if you lose decision-making capacity. Without a valid EPOA, your family and loved ones are not automatically authorised to act for you. In the absence of an EPOA, the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT) may appoint a decision-maker of its choosing, which may not be the person you would have selected. An EPOA can authorise your attorney to make:

Personal decisions, including where you live and what services you receive
Health and medical decisions, including consent for treatment
Financial and legal decisions, including managing investments, paying bills, and dealing with property

We will guide you through the process of appointing the right attorney and ensure your EPOA is properly drafted to protect your interests, both personal and financial.

Superannuation & Life Insurance

It is important to understand that superannuation and life insurance do not automatically form part of your estate. To direct these assets into a testamentary trust or to a specific beneficiary, you will need a valid binding death benefit nomination in place. We can advise you on how to align your super and insurance nominations with your broader estate plan.

Speak with our estate planning team.

A Smarter, Flexible Way to Fund Your Estate Administration Matter

Managing a deceased estate and the probate process often means covering more than just legal fees. Executors can face costs like insurance, property maintenance, and other expenses – often out of their own pocket, with reimbursement to come later. They may even want to improve assets prior to sale.

Through our partnership with JustFund, eligible Executors and Beneficiaries can access flexible funding to cover these expenses as well as legal fees, with no repayments until probate is finalised. This helps ease financial pressure while ensuring the estate is preserved.