Estate Planning and Legal Services
Estate Planning is the creation, preservation or protection of wealth and the tax effective transfer or distribution of that wealth. In order to implement an estate planning process, a number of "tools" are utilised to assist in the wealth management program.
These include:
• The Will
• Superannuation
• Insurance Policies
• Trust Structures
Estate Planning is not just about dying. It has three distinct phases:
• Creation of the Estate - via such entities as business equity, borrowings, investments, insurance and superannuation.
• Preservation of the Estate - outrunning inflation, reducing taxes, protection of assets from creditors and bankruptcy.
• Distribution of the Estate - via wills trusts, business equity, debt/personal guarantee cancellation, capital gains tax, life insurance and superannuation.
Why the need for specialist advice?
In business today, it is vital to have the correct structures established from the outset. Too often individuals enter into business arrangements without proper advice, only to have to undergo an expensive, corrective process to rectify that lack of planning at the initial stages.
Bridgewater AFS retains a network of law firms, each of these firms is credentialed in their own right to ensure that advice is very well researched and developed prior to being provided to our clients.
Where there's a will there's ANOTHER way
Although wills are often regarded as the cornerstone of sound Estate Planning, many wills are not appropriately drafted for today's economic and legal environment.
They are almost always reversionary - that is, a husband leaves all his assets to the wife and vice versa.
When one of them dies, everything is left to the other.
However, leaving everything to your loved ones in not necessarily the best thing you can do for them.
The problem with a reversionary wills is that it transfer’s ownership of assets to an individual which in turn maximises the impact of capital gains tax, income tax and stamp duty. It will also minimise any pension entitlements to which the spouse would otherwise be entitled.
It also exposes the estate assets to possible future loss as a consequence of bankruptcy or divorce proceedings involving beneficiaries.
Bridgewater AFS's progressive strategic approach does not rely upon a reversionary will - it transfers control rather than ownership of assets through the use of trusts. This minimises tax and stamp duty paid by the beneficiaries. It also protects the assets and creates a structure we refer to as a "Family Bank" - A structure that has the strength to exist for future generations.
Estate Planning should be a positive process which documents strategies that are updated each year as a client's circumstances change.
Estate Planning should not commence on death. A progressive technique has many advantages over traditional wills. In many cases, significant benefits are achieved while all members of the family are still living.
Estate Planning is the creation, preservation or protection of wealth and the tax effective transfer or distribution of that wealth. In order to implement an estate planning process, a number of "tools" are utilised to assist in the wealth management program.
These include:
• The Will
• Superannuation
• Insurance Policies
• Trust Structures
Estate Planning is not just about dying. It has three distinct phases:
• Creation of the Estate - via such entities as business equity, borrowings, investments, insurance and superannuation.
• Preservation of the Estate - outrunning inflation, reducing taxes, protection of assets from creditors and bankruptcy.
• Distribution of the Estate - via wills trusts, business equity, debt/personal guarantee cancellation, capital gains tax, life insurance and superannuation.
Why the need for specialist advice?
In business today, it is vital to have the correct structures established from the outset. Too often individuals enter into business arrangements without proper advice, only to have to undergo an expensive, corrective process to rectify that lack of planning at the initial stages.
Bridgewater AFS retains a network of law firms, each of these firms is credentialed in their own right to ensure that advice is very well researched and developed prior to being provided to our clients.
Where there's a will there's ANOTHER way
Although wills are often regarded as the cornerstone of sound Estate Planning, many wills are not appropriately drafted for today's economic and legal environment.
They are almost always reversionary - that is, a husband leaves all his assets to the wife and vice versa.
When one of them dies, everything is left to the other.
However, leaving everything to your loved ones in not necessarily the best thing you can do for them.
The problem with a reversionary wills is that it transfer’s ownership of assets to an individual which in turn maximises the impact of capital gains tax, income tax and stamp duty. It will also minimise any pension entitlements to which the spouse would otherwise be entitled.
It also exposes the estate assets to possible future loss as a consequence of bankruptcy or divorce proceedings involving beneficiaries.
Bridgewater AFS's progressive strategic approach does not rely upon a reversionary will - it transfers control rather than ownership of assets through the use of trusts. This minimises tax and stamp duty paid by the beneficiaries. It also protects the assets and creates a structure we refer to as a "Family Bank" - A structure that has the strength to exist for future generations.
Estate Planning should be a positive process which documents strategies that are updated each year as a client's circumstances change.
Estate Planning should not commence on death. A progressive technique has many advantages over traditional wills. In many cases, significant benefits are achieved while all members of the family are still living.
