As part of the estate planning process, in addition to considering wills, powers of attorney, appointments of enduring guardians, superannuation nominations, testamentary trusts and the like, it may be appropriate to consider insurance in the event of a death or major illness.

In addition to the trauma of having to cope with your death or serious illness, your family is likely to have some difficulty in meeting liabilities such as mortgage repayments. If you have an insurance policy in place however, you may be able to minimise that risk.

We can provide referrals to various financial planners and insurance intermediaries to provide advice and quotes in relation to general insurances (for homes, contents, motor vehicles, trailers, boats and the like) as well as the personal insurances such as:

• Life Insurance
• Income Protection Insurance
• Total and Permanent Disablement (TPD) insurance
• Critical Illness Insurance
• Key Man Insurance

Many life insurance policies are held in superannuation funds so that the premiums payable can be deductible as contributions to super. In the same way as standard death benefits in superannuation funds can be paid by way of binding nominations, the beneficiaries of those super life policies can also be named by way of binding nominations. This can also provide an estate planning benefit in that the superannuation asset does not form part of an estate and is therefore not subject to any claims made on a deceased’s estate.

Income protection insuranceis available to ensure that you maintain some level of income in the event that you have injuries or suffer from an illness that prevents you from performing your job or any job (depending on the terms of the policy. Generally up to 75% of your income can be protected by such a policy and the premiums payable are generally tax deductible for this type of insurance.

TPD and Critical Illness Insurance are also available and generally provide a defined benefit if the insured is diagnosed with having one or more of a list of illnesses, injuries and sicknesses.

Key Man Insurance is effectively another version of life insurance that is obtained by businesses that rely heavily on a particular person’s experience or expertise. That person is insured against death or serious illness which would prevent them working for the business. The business (whether a company or that person’s business partners or an individual employer) owns the policy in that situation.

Contact us

Call one of our Estate Planning Lawyers for free initial telephone advice on your circumstances and to discuss your estate planning and insurance needs on (02) 9525 8688.