Asset Protection - Hard earned assets should be protected. Personal assets are under greater and greater threat due to increased litigation and governmen regulations. It is important to ensure your assets are appropriately safeguarded.

Succession Planning - If you run a family business it is never too early to plan your exit strategy. We see good businesses stumble or fail because no succession strategy was in place.

If you want your business to survive into the next generation(s) of ownership and management or if you want the best exit from your business, succession planning is vital.

Estate Planning - Planning your estate is often an important adjunct to both asset protection and succession planning and should be dealt with in an integrated fashion when discussing those issues.

Cowell Clarke's Asset, Estate and Succession Planning team will effectively assist you to achieve your objectives. Our advice takes into account taxation, superannuation and business and family succession issues.

Our experience includes:

• advising on estate planning that takes into account complex succession issues
• dealing with superannuation including the appropriate structure for superannuation funds and making binding nominations as part of the estate planning process
• assisting clients to deal with Capital Gains Tax issues
• reviewing family structures to ensure that there is a smooth succession of family businesses or farms to the next generation and advising on strategies to deal with succession issues prior to death
• preparing businesses for an exit by sale or other means
• preparing wills coupled with testamentary trusts and, where appropriate, ancillary documents including Powers of Attorney and Medical Powers of Attorney
• disputed wills and inheritance claims
• probate applications and deceased estate administration