Who can I gift to?

Do you know the Oprah episode: “You get a car! You get a car! Everybody gets a car!”?

Well, when it comes to your Will, you generally have a lot of freedom to choose who receives your estate.

You can leave gifts to family members, friends, charities, and other organisations. You can also choose how many people you want to benefit and how much or what you want each person to receive.

There are some important things to understand before you start handing out imaginary cars, though.

Who can I leave my estate to?

You can generally choose who you want to benefit from your Will. Depending on your circumstances, this could include:

• your spouse or partner

• your children

• stepchildren

• grandchildren

• parents

• siblings

• other relatives

• friends

• charities

• community organisations

• companies or other entities

• other people you have a connection with.

You can also make different types of gifts. For example, you might leave:

• a specific amount of money to someone

• a particular piece of jewellery or other sentimental item

• your home to a particular person

• a percentage of your estate to someone

• different assets or proportions of your estate to different people

• part of your estate to a charity.

Your Will can be structured around what you want to achieve with your estate, rather than simply dividing everything equally between your family members.

Can I leave my estate to a friend?

Yes. There is no general requirement that you must leave your estate to your family.

You can choose to leave some or all of your estate to a friend, provided your Will is properly prepared and executed.

This can be particularly relevant for people who don't have children, people who are estranged from family members, people in complex family structures, and anyone who considers a close friend to be part of their chosen family.

If you have a spouse, children, or other people who may have a legal right to make a claim against your estate, though, you need to consider the potential for a Family Provision Application.

Can I leave my estate to my stepchildren?

Yes. You can include your stepchildren as beneficiaries of your Will.

This is something we regularly consider with blended families because stepchildren don't automatically have the same legal position as your biological or adopted children simply because they are part of your family.

If you want a stepchild to receive something from your estate, your Will should clearly reflect that intention. Blended families can also raise more complicated questions about how assets should ultimately pass between your spouse, biological children, stepchildren, and other family members. That is where personalised estate planning advice becomes important.

Can I leave money to a charity?

Absolutely. Charitable gifts can be a meaningful part of your estate plan.

You might leave a specific amount, a particular asset, or a percentage of your estate to a charity or charitable organisation that is important to you. If charitable giving is part of your legacy, your estate plan should make sure the gift is structured and documented correctly.

Can I leave something to my pet?

Unfortunately, your pet can't inherit from your Will directly. Your dog can't be a beneficiary, no matter how many good boys they have been.

But that doesn't mean your pets have to miss out. You can include provisions in your estate plan to help make sure your pets are cared for if you die.

For example, your Letter of Wishes can provide detailed guidance about:

• who you would like to care for your pet

• what your pet eats

• their exercise routine

• medications and veterinary care

• their usual veterinarian

• their personality and routines

• any other information that will help their new carer understand what they need.

You can also make financial arrangements as part of your estate plan to help with your pet's ongoing care.

Who should I leave my estate to?

This is a different question to “Who can I gift to?”

Working out who you can benefit is usually the easy part. Working out who you want to benefit, how much they should receive, and how that inheritance should be structured is where estate planning comes in.

For example, you might want to:

• provide equally for your children

• provide different amounts to different beneficiaries

• protect an inheritance for a vulnerable beneficiary

• protect an inheritance from relationship breakdown or creditor risks

• provide for your spouse during their lifetime, with the remaining assets ultimately passing to your children

• provide for children from a previous relationship

• leave something to friends or charities

• establish a testamentary discretionary trust for beneficiaries who may benefit from greater flexibility and protection.

There isn't one right answer. Your estate plan should reflect your family, your assets, your relationships, and what you want your legacy to look like.

What about people who aren't happy with my Will?

This is an important part of estate planning. You generally have broad freedom to decide who receives your estate, but that doesn't mean your Will is completely immune from challenge.

Under Queensland law, certain people may be eligible to make a Family Provision Application if they believe they have not been adequately provided for from your estate. Potential applicants can include certain spouses, children, and dependants.

That means there is an important distinction between:

“Can I leave my estate to this person?”

and

“Could someone else have grounds to make a claim against my estate?”

Those are two different questions. If you are considering leaving someone out of your Will, reducing their inheritance, or making an unusual distribution of your estate, you should obtain legal advice about the potential risks.

Your estate plan is about more than choosing beneficiaries

Choosing who receives your estate is one part of your estate plan.

You also need to consider how those people will receive their inheritance, who will manage your estate, what happens if a beneficiary dies before you, how your superannuation fits into the plan, whether any assets sit outside your estate, and whether any structures are appropriate to protect or manage an inheritance.

For some families, a straightforward Will may be appropriate. For others, a more sophisticated estate planning strategy may be worth considering.

The right approach depends on your circumstances and what you want to achieve.

So, who gets the car?

Well, you decide.

Your estate plan gives you the opportunity to make deliberate decisions about who you want to benefit from your life’s work and how you want that inheritance to be passed on.

And if your answer is, “Actually, I want my sister to get the car, my kids to inherit the house, my best friend to get my jewellery, my favourite charity to receive a gift, and my dog to be looked after by my neighbour,” that is exactly the sort of thing we can work through with you.

Who you leave your estate to is a personal decision. Making sure your estate plan is structured to achieve what you want is the legal part.

If you're ready to start working out who should benefit from your estate, head to Request a Booking to get started.