Completing a will

[Bolle]

sorry forgot about your tax query - the main tax you have to consider is capital gains tax - lawyers will help you structure your will (and hopefully guide your executors) so that your beneficiaries will incur least amount of tax liability (they SHOULD anyway, if they are any good.) laws on tax change from time to time, so touch base with your lawyer periodically to make sure that your will is still as good as it can be regarding taxes. Your aussie beneficiaries have a reasonable timeframe within which transferral of assets will not incur CGT.

Regarding international beneficiaries, the CGT waiver does not apply. Any assets they inherit will be hit with CGT, calculated as at time of death.

more info here: http://www.ato.gov.au/individuals/content.asp?doc=/content/37184.htm

 

[Julia]

Bolle, invaluable advice, and very comprehensive.

Joe/mods: would it be reasonable to make this a 'sticky' in the General Chat forum?

So many people would be making the same assumptions that Gooner was whereas in fact it's not simple at all.

 

[gooner]

So many people would be making the same assumptions that Gooner was whereas in fact it's not simple at all.

Indeed, plenty for me to think about.

Although, I do have one of those files with all the financial details in. My wife has no interest in all the finances so have made a point of having a file with details of assets etc in case anything did happen. Hate to think she would not know about my valuable holding of ABC learning shares