SERVICES

ELDER LAW

The proportion of our population above the age of 50 years continues to grow. This significant fact has been recognised by our law makers, who have embarked on a campaign to enact various pieces of legislation aimed directly at issues that effect those in the 50 plus age group. Legislation such as the Age Care Act 1997 ; Powers of Attorney Act 1998 ; Retirement Villages Act 1999 ; Guardianship and Administration Act 2000 are all examples of legislation that impact upon this significant portion of our population. The issues effecting this section of our population are often similar to those of other sectors of the population, so we offer to our clients a multi-disciplinary practice covering such issues as:-

• Mediating family disputes;
• Insurance advice;
• Life and Estate planning;
• Gifts to family members;
• Retirement villages;
• Hostels and Nursing Homes;
• Advice on dealing with professionals;
• Discrimination abuse and misuse;
• Powers of Attorney;
• Trusts and Superannuation;
• Rights of Grandparents; and
• Social Security and Pension entitlements.

Planning the next phase of your life can involve considering many issues, all of which may have significant importance to yourself and your family. Some things that you may need to consider are:-

• Enduring Powers of Attorney and Advance Health Directives as a means of planning for possible incapacity.



• Succession Planning can also involve the giving of gifts to children whilst you are around to see them benefit from them, but they also can involve significant problems, especially when you may retire from the day to day control of your business. There may be tax implications or ways of ensuring that you receive Social Security entitlements in certain circumstances.



• Often upon retirement, disputes can arise with Superannuation companies over proper entitlements, whether immediately upon retirement, or upon the death of the retiree. Also, another circumstance likely to cause problems can be where a retiree re-marries.



• Second marriages/ relationships can often cause friction within the family. These issues can often be discussed openly and resolved in the form of a Family Agreement. You could also consider Co-Habitation or Pre-Nuptial Agreements.



• Many of our aged population suffer from discrimination in relation to employment, housing and other issues and often advice or simple liaising with appropriate organisations can resolve the problems.

Our Lawyers have completed appropriate workshops to enable them to consider many of the issues that may confront our aging population. Noel and Brian are happy to adopt a multi-disciplinary approach, which would involve liaising with other professionals on your behalf, such as Accountants, Financial Planners and Doctors.