How can I stop my kids from contesting my will?

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How can I stop my kids contesting the amount they receive from my estate?

It may not be possible to stop a person contesting your will – if they feel they have been aggrieved, they may well seek legal advice. But there are many things you can do when drawing up a will to make contesting it difficult.

Family disputes about wills and estates have jumped by about 80 per cent in the past decade.Credit: Simon Letch

One option is to hold assets as joint tenants (with another person), in which case the asset would automatically go to the survivor in the event of the will maker’s death, irrespective of the terms of the will. This is usually done with shares and property, and is not a one size fits all strategy.

Another approach is to give money away long before you die – you will have the enjoyment of watching the recipient enjoy the money, and provided this was not done very close to death, could be safe from challenge.

A third option is to use insurance bonds – these sit outside the will and cannot be challenged. Furthermore, they pass to the beneficiary free of capital gains tax.

If a challenge to your will is even a remote possibility, you should be taking advice from a solicitor who specialises in estate planning sooner rather than later. They will almost certainly recommend you include reasons in your will why you have chosen certain beneficiaries and not others.

How would buying $20,000 worth of gold or silver assist me with this looming downturn? With value being lost on our dollar buying power, should I be stocking up on non-perishables? What else will help from your experience?

I’m not convinced that “a looming downturn” is coming, and I’ve long believed that people should take a long-term view of their investments and not have money in assets such as shares unless they have at least a seven-year timeframe.

This will give them time to ride out the inevitable downturns which will occur. If gold is your thing – it’s certainly not mine – the best way to invest in it is to buy gold shares. You have no storage or insurance costs and will receive an income by way of dividends from the goldmining company’s profits.

Stock up on perishables which have a long shelf life if you’ve noticed their prices are rising, but I have found a much more effective method of protecting yourself against inflation is to buy online. During the recent Black Friday sales, I found many common items such as toiletries and razor blades at almost 50 per cent off.

I am 63 and intend to keep working full time for the foreseeable future, maybe having one day a week off when I turn 65. I earn $200,000 a year. My super is still in accumulation mode with a balance of $900,000. My employer contribution and my own concessional contributions total $27,500 a year. I see frequent articles suggesting that people my age should convert their superannuation to pension mode to save the 15 per cent tax. I am concerned that if I do this, my superannuation will be diminished and not last for my retirement. I understand I would need to draw 5 per cent each year and would like to recontribute this, but fear I’m unable to make additional concessional contributions. What is your advice?

If you are a long-term employee in your present job, you may not be able to transfer your superannuation to pension mode until you are 65 unless you qualify for a condition of release. This requires you to resign from a job – it need not be your main job.

Just bear in mind that contributions made to super by people who are retired and in pension mode are normally non-concessional contributions (made from after-tax dollars) and the limit for these is $110,000 a year. I think your best option is to wait until 65 and then re-examine the best strategies for your future. You are well-placed for retirement.

If I made a non-concessional superannuation contribution of $330,000 on July 14, 2021, would the earliest date to make any additional non-concessional contributions be July 15, 2024?

If you made a non-concessional superannuation contribution of $330,000 in the 2021-22 financial year, no further non-concessional contributions can be made in that financial year, and the next two financial years. This means the earliest date to make any additional non-concessional contributions will be July 1, 2024 (ie the 2024-25 financial year).

Noel Whittaker is the author of Retirement Made Simple and other books on personal finance. Email: [email protected]

• Advice given in this article is general in nature and is not intended to influence readers’ decisions about investing or financial products. They should always seek their own professional advice that takes into account their own personal circumstances before making any financial decisions.

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