do you have an extended or blended family?

Do you have a Extended or Blended family?

Let’s face it nearly half of all families are blended as close to half of all marriages & partnerships split up.

Let’s take up one scenario which we know of and it is a simple & common scenario.

It was now way back in 1986 when markets were positive & there was no such thing as compulsory superannuation or SGC. ‘Colin’ who was earning enough to have to pay taxx & wanted retirement benefits for the future took out a superannuation plan. This was deductible & it had life cover on it to cover his mortgage & to provide something for his family. He nominated his wife as beneficiary on 2 policies.
All good so far.

However as it happened & we all can get too hard to live with there was a split 10 years later & a subsequent divorce.
As ‘Colin’ needed a kindred spirit he found another partner. Is that uncommon? As his three children were still at school or needed financial assistance then he contributed to his ex spouse over another 10 years.

But just this year ‘Colin’ took his last puff. He still had his original will made out to his ex & family. He hadn’t changed his beneficiaries to his new partner or changed it in anyway.

Thus his executors who aren’t professional & don’t do this more than once have to decide all this. If it was too hard for ‘Colin’ then what chances are that they get it right.
If you are the executor of a will have you researched into what your responsibilities are.

If the funds do go to his adult children then they will be taxed at 15% or 30% on the lump sum as now non dependant. At least there is adequate money to distribute which may not be the case in your union fund. ‘Colin’ elected not to opt in for advice & hence the family suffers the consequences.

This is a simple & common scenario but there are many more.
What if as happens ‘Colin’ has a child to the new lady. How common is that? What does the executor or the trustee of a super fund do then?

We had ‘Norman’ here recently. He has, as does a neighbour, children younger than his grandchildren. How extended is that? He has assets & a business with debt on it. Yes he does have life cover but the above questions still apply.

Then there is ‘Anthony’ who is one of many on his 3rd marriage. Who does he leave his legacy to? Is it his spouse or his grandchildren or a charity. It’s his choice but if he hasn’t actioned an estate plan then who knows & at what cost to solve the challenge.

An estate plan can be a simple or as technically difficult as the law can be. Hence a simple step is a meeting to look at the simple basics & the next steps to take such as

‘Dying without a will is courting chaos: claims against your estate’
Wills ensure you have the last word: properly drafted wills

Prevention is always easier today than after the event. We aren’t members of the 1st profession but financial planners who first consider the holistic picture. We can direct you to our estate partners.

Then there is this ‘death or serious illness can create huge problems for self-managed funds’

‘ a common characteristic of high-net-worth individuals seems to be that they're more than happy to seek, and pay for, good quality advice’

We welcome your call on 07 3848 1088 or email or our websites

John McAuliffe