Do you know what will happen to your assets when you pass away? Do you have a will in place? Have you ensured that everything you’ve worked for will end up in the right hands? 

For many people, putting these plans in place is a ‘I’ll get to that next year’ task. As a result, many Australians die without a valid will in place, meaning they die ‘intestate’. 

As too many Australians kick this particular can down the road, they run the risk of leaving a legacy of a financial and emotional mess. 

In August, the TGS Foundation invited Mr Robert O’Harae (‘09) to speak at a complimentary webinar exploring the options available when it comes to estate planning. The webinar is the latest in the ongoing ‘TGS Foundation Conversations’ series providing information and guidance on important future-focused financial decisions. 

An Alumnus of Trinity Grammar School himself, Mr O’Harae is a Principal and Practice Lead of the Wills and Estates team at Artemide Law. 

With his expertise in wills, estate planning, family business succession, private, and estate litigation, Mr O’Harae advises families on protecting their assets and planning for future generations. His practical and thoughtful approach to complex estate matters made him the perfect choice to join us for this special webinar helping Trinity’s community to understand the role of trusts, wills, and estate planning in their own lives. 

While it can be tempting to put off creating a will for another day, Mr O’Harae says that this creates more trouble than simply dealing with it. 

“[When you die intestate] it means you can’t choose how your estate goes. Effectively, you’re thrown straight into a statutory paradigm of how your estate passes. You can’t choose who your executor is. You can’t make any specific gifts to very worthwhile foundations.” 

And, for your family left behind, he describes the fallout as being “forced through a meat grinder” of legal hoops and paperwork – one that no one deserves to deal with in the midst of grief and one that can have disastrous consequences for family businesses and property. 

“Often, people come into my office and they’re just trying to pick up the pieces of where everything lands. More often than not, I’m seeing large messes that take a lot of time, a lot of anxiety, and a lot of money to clean up.” 

Throughout the webinar, he shared the dangers of dying intestate, what robust estate planning can look like, the mechanics of a will, a testamentary trusts, and recent legislative changes and their effect on succession planning. 

In particular, he shared the importance of updating your arrangements regularly, not falling into the trap of thinking a will is ‘set and forget’. 

“Whenever there’s a big life milestone … you set up a new trust, you sell a business, you have a child … pull your will out of the drawer, have a look, and make sure it still does what you want it to do.” 

These are sentiments that are shared often by advisors, but are not always heeded and they should not be ignored or forgotten about. 

“You can save an enormous world of pain if you just do it properly.” 

The strength of the Trinity community has always been found in the willingness of its members to share their knowledge, experiences and wisdom with others. As the TGS Foundation Conversations series grows, we welcome your ideas for future topics and speakers. 

If there is a conversation you would like to see explored, or if you feel you could contribute to one yourself, please get in touch with the Development Office. Together, we can create conversations that inform, connect and benefit our community.