Mid-life Legal Check-up

Our aim is to diagnose what areas of your succession planning require attention.

A Mid-Life Legal Check-up is a structured way to comprehensively review the estate and succession planning issues that affect your family, investments and business affairs.

How long will it take?

The check-up usually involves at least two meetings.  It may also involve a number of telephone calls and emails.

At the initial meeting we gain an understanding of the current state of your estate and succession planning, and your future intentions and objectives.

We then review and consider the information and documents that you have provided to us, to gain an understanding of the relevant issues.

We then generally prepare a draft Estate & Succession Planning Report, including our initial recommendations (and a fee proposal to implement those recommendation).  We guarantee to have your draft report to you within 2 weeks of our initial meeting.

In the next meeting we sit down with you and review and clarify our recommendations, and answer any further questions that our draft report may have raised.

When we have adequately dealt with any further questions, we will then finalise your Estate & Succession Planning Report.

From start to finish, the process may be expected to take around 6 weeks.

What will I get out of it?

You will gain a thorough understanding of how well your affairs are structured with respect to estate and succession planning.

You will have a written Estate & Succession Planning Report, incorporating our recommendations, together with a fixed quote to address any outstanding issues.

The Check-up does not include the preparation of any specific succession planning documentation or implementation, other than your Estate & Succession Planning Report.

You are at liberty to take your Estate & Succession Planning Report to another lawyer or adviser to have our recommendations confirmed or implemented.

What you should bring along?

Before meeting with us you should compile as much information as possible about your investment and business affairs.

Information that we will require to properly form our recommendations include:

• A summary of the ownership of your key assets;

• A summary of your family members, including possible de facto relationships and former marriages;

• Any Financial Plan or other recommendations from your financial planner;

• A copy of your current Will (and any covenants to your Will);

• A copy of your current Enduring Power of Attorney;

• A copy of your current Medical Power of Attorney or Guardianship;

• The Deed for any trusts of which you are either a trustee, appointor or beneficiary (and any amendments deeds);

• The Deed for any DIY super funds of which you are a member or trustee;

• A copy of any binding directions/nominations to a super fund trustee;

• The Constitution (formally known as Memorandum and Articles of Association) for any company of which you are a director or shareholder;

• Any Shareholder Agreements relating to companies in which you are involved;

• Any “Buy-Sell Agreements”, “Business Wills” or “Exit Agreements” relating to businesses in which you are involved;

• Any Partnership Agreements or Franchise Agreements that relate to your business affairs;

• Any Land Holding Agreements relating to properties held with other persons;

• Policies of insurance relating to life, disability, income protection, business interruption, key man and loans;

• The accounts for your business for the past couple of years;

• Details of any guarantees or sureties that you have provided, for example, to a bank or finance company; and

• Copies of any employee share option plans in which you participate.

It is helpful if this information can be provided to us prior to our initial meeting.

We also encourage you to bring along your accountant or financial planner.  We prefer to work with your current accountant and financial planner during this process.

What will is cost?

We when have met with you, and gained an understanding of the nature and complexity of your affairs, we will then provide you with a fixed-fee proposal to run you through our comprehensive review and planning process.

We will fully refund our fee if you are not satisfied with the outcome of your Check-up.