A will decides who gets your assets. A testamentary trust decides how they get them, and that difference can matter enormously for your kids, your blended family, and how much tax they pay. Ana sits down with estate planning lawyer Angie Treichel to unpack a tool most Australians have never heard of, plus why the post office will you've been meaning to fill out might not do what you think it does.

In this episode we'll discuss:

💸 What a testamentary trust actually is: a trust written into your will that stays dormant until you pass away, with a trustee managing assets for your beneficiaries instead of handing them over directly

💸 The blended family scenario nobody plans for: why a mirror will can quietly cut your kids out years down the track, and how life insurance directed into a trust can keep everyone protected

💸 The tax angle: minor beneficiaries accessing adult tax rates and up to $22,000 per child per year tax free, versus penalty rates above $416 in a regular family trust

💸 Asset protection, including protecting beneficiaries from a messy divorce, and sometimes from themselves

💸 Why the post office or DIY will can miss your biggest asset entirely (joint tenancy, super and binding death benefit nominations all sit outside your will)

💸 The recent budget scare: proposed changes that Angie says would have taxed orphans and widows, and the backflip that followed

💸 What it costs (roughly $3,000 to $10,000), the net worth where it starts making sense (~$500,000), and why Angie reckons the average couple is closer to that number than they think

💸 The Letter of Wishes: funeral songs, the photos your partner is allowed to use, subscriptions to cancel, and every login your executor will otherwise spend unpaid hours hunting down

Nobody enjoys this conversation, but as Angie puts it, a will never benefits you. It benefits the people left behind, who deserve the space to grieve without a legal mess to untangle. If you take one thing from this episode, book the chat with your partner or your parents this week.

@angie_ajtlegal

https://www.ajtlegal.com.au/

Free Estate Plan Ebook - AJT Legal

Free Testamentary Trust Ebook - AJT Legal

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