Legislative framework

I am often amazed that people think that the law must just give them the ability to do what it is that they want at the time.  And then they are surprised to find that it doesn't work that way.  They think that they should be able to do XYZ and can't understand why law hasn't been put in place that allows them to do precisely what they want.  The bottom line is that there is a very low level of understanding in the community (and indeed some professional advisers as well) of -

  • how property ownership is dealt with; and
  • how property passes by succession to others; and
  • how property and lifestyle decisions are made when a person loses capacity.

If people only knew how difficult and serious issues could be easily avoided with a little planning beforehand, I'm sure everyone would do it.  It is not only about protecting against the downside; there can also be upside built into a quality PLAN.

The essence is this - the law provides a framework for dealing with property, succession, incapacity etc.  It leaves people with a very large freedom to arrange their affairs as they choose to do.  Having provided this framework if people don't take the opportunity to organise things themselves, then there is often a default position provided in legislation. The default is never good!  Rarely have I seen situations where the default was a satisfactory result.  To be able to plan effectively I can design a PLAN that meets your objectives from the toolbox of available tools.

An example is a Will.  If you have a well constructed and thought out Will, it can be very beneficial thing for all those beneficiaries on executors that are involved with it.  If you don't have a will, then there is an intestacy and there are rules as to how the estate is administered and how it is distributed.  I have seen many large and expensive problems that would have been avoided with a very simple and straightforward Will.

The law provides us with great freedom to structure our lives and property ownership to our own best advantage.  It is wise to take advantage of this freedom.  To do this you need to know what is in the toolbox for developing a PLAN.

It needs to be appreciated that this legislative framework involves both State and Territory as well as Federal jurisdictions.