Estate Planning

Estate planning helps to ensure your assets will be managed and transferred according to your wishes in the most financially efficient and tax effective way after you die. Estate planning is more than just creating a will. Depending upon the complexity of your affairs, an estate plan may incorporate provisions for:

• Nominating someone to act on your behalf if you are unable to manage your own affairs – a financial or medical power of attorney or an advance-care directive
• Creating trusts or other structures for tax purposes or to protect significant assets
• Specifying arrangements for the smooth transfer of business interests
• Ensuring that structures you control (such as a family trust, family companies or superannuation funds) pass to the control of people you choose and trust
• Protecting and providing for loved ones with a disability or special needs, including young children
• Protecting your children’s inheritance from claims by their creditors or claims resulting from any future relationship breakdowns
• A charitable-giving programme, whether it is a one-off donation, charitable trust or foundation such as a private ancillary fund.

An estate plan is something we recommend for all of our clients. It is particularly important for families with complex needs, such as those involving second marriages or loved ones with special needs, and to avoid family disputes when it comes to the efficient distribution of your assets. Ultimately, it provides you with peace of mind that your affairs will be concluded as you intended.

Many Ord Minnett clients are philanthropic, concerned not only with building wealth for themselves and their families but also for those in need and for their communities. Accordingly, Ords provides authoritative and comprehensive philanthropic services in collaboration with our partner firm Australian Executor Trustees (AET). Ords Advisers work with AET specialists to develop and manage an overall wealth-management and client wealth-transfer strategy using private ancillary funds (PAFs) and/or charitable trusts.

An initial consultation is the basis for gaining a clear understanding of your wishes and to explore the various philanthropic options before providing our considered advice on how best to proceed.

The professionals at AET can then help you establish and administer either a PAF or a charitable trust. They can act as a trustee for you and oversee the investment of funds held in trust. You can also donate directly to charities, either as a lump sum or through a series of regular donations. If you don't have a specific recipient in mind, we can help you find an appropriate charity to help make your wishes a reality. 

A private ancillary fund (PAF) allows you to create a personalised charitable-giving programme that continues after your death.

It offers complete control over who receives the benefit and is established whilst you are alive, so you have the pleasure of seeing the benefits of your philanthropy.

A PAF is a fund to which you make tax-deductible donations that support charities. These donations build an investment portfolio of carefully selected assets and distributions are then made to your nominated charities annually. 

A PAF is the appropriate philanthropic structure if you:

• Want to establish a long-term, tax-effective personalised giving programme
• Have a minimum of $500,000 to start your giving programme
• Want to be involved in the investment management and gifting decisions of your foundation
• Want your philanthropy to be effective over the long term
• Want to involve family members and future generations in your passion for philanthropy.

Ord Minnett and AET simplify the process of creating and managing your PAF, making your philanthropy easy and straight forward.

A charitable trust is established within your will and commences upon your death to benefit your selected charitable purposes, forever. Ord Minnett and AET can manage the assets within your charitable trust, whilst distributing the income in line with the instructions in your will.

They can be used to support a wide range of community endeavours such as:

• Registered charitable institutions
• Schools or universities
• Medical research
• Church bodies or community services group
• Assisting the poor and needy

A charitable trust is a lasting memorial to the causes that are dearest to you and ensures your giving is perpetual. The beneficiaries will take comfort in the knowledge they will receive a continual investment stream.