Overview of Wills and Estate Planning Law

Substantive Law

CPD Points 1

Rating:

4.7/5

This course provides a practical introduction to Wills and estate planning law in Australia, covering the key considerations for lawyers when giving estate planning advice.

Despite being one of the most important documents a person can make, statistics show that more than 50% of Australian adults do not have a Will. However, estate planning is much broader than simply preparing and executing a Will – it involves a process of helping clients to rearrange their affairs during their lifetime to best achieve the desired outcome on their death. This is a key area where lawyers can assist clients.

This course provides a practical introduction to Wills and estate planning law in Australia. The course covers the key considerations for lawyers when giving estate planning advice:

identifying assets and liabilities, particularly assets that require special treatment;
dealing with life insurance and superannuation benefits;
requirements for preparing and executing a valid Will;
limiting the impact of family provision legislation;
using testamentary trusts in Wills; and
testamentary capacity and substitute decision-making documents.

Skip to the end of the images gallery

Skip to the beginning of the images gallery

Author Profiles

Lucy Dickens

Lucy is an experienced lawyer, business administrator and manager who is responsible for supervising the Wills, probate, estate administration and real estate settlements teams at Birman & Ride.

View More From This Author

Michael Hodgkins

Michael has been a partner of Birman & Ride since July 2009. He leads the firm’s family and property law teams which offer a broad range of services including settlements, commercial law, family law, wills and estate planning.

View More From This Author

Features

Interactive Content

Self-Paced Completion

Access on Any Device

Receive Certificate of Completion

What Lawyers Say

5.0/5

Super helpful

I tracked back through this course that I did last year to learn a little more about a Will - so it has been super helpful.
- Tracey Jackson, Solicitor, RSPCA Queensland
4.0/5

A useful course.

I found this course useful and the website was easy to navigate.
- Dimitrios Katsaros, Partner, Katsaros & Associates
5.0/5

A good overview on Wills and Estates Planning

I found this course to be a good nuts and bolts overview on estate planning.
- Hudson Concanen, Hudson Concanen Lawyer