Why Should You Establish a Trust for Estate Planning? 4 Reasons

One of the most common questions that lawyers get asked is whether a trust is necessary or not. Just in case you didn't know, a living trust gives more control over your assets in the event of incapacitation or death. This means you will have more control or power over how your assets are distributed amongst children or your preferred beneficiaries. There are also other important reasons as to why creating a trust makes sense. Reputable estate planning lawyers in Perth list out the following benefits:

Avoid probate:

Probate is a court-led process, which is complex and time consuming. During the probate process, the court will be examining all the provisions and assets included in the will. There will also be a waiting period, during which the beneficiaries will have no access to any of the funds or properties in the estate. When you have a living trust, you can avoid probate. Your family members don't have to go through the hurdles of this process, thus letting them save their time and money.

Incapacitation:

Another benefit of having a trust is that it can be imposed when you are incapacitated. During such circumstances, a trustee will control your assets and manage them just the way you wanted. 

According to the estate planning lawyers in Perth, your trust should specify in detail how your assets must be taken care of when you are incapacitated, and what needs to be done after your death. However, this is not the same as a power of attorney. Married couples can also establish a trust in order to set aside assets for the surviving spouse.

Protect Your Assets:

Having a trust will secure your property from creditors or lawsuits. If a beneficiary of your assets has a lawsuit filed against them, your trust will help protect your assets and keep them inaccessible to creditors.

Flexibility to Manage Assets:

Having a trust lets you decide how your assets must be distributed under different circumstances. There are different types of trusts available for you to consider. The most common types include revocable and irrevocable living trusts. 

A revocable living trust, as the name suggests, is a trust that can be changed or revoked by the grantor any time they want. An irrevocable trust remains fixed. Another popular type of trust is the income-only living trust. Get in touch with the certified trust lawyers in Perth, in order to know how your assets must be managed. Simply put, having a trust gives you the flexibility to manage and distribute assets as per your requirements.

Save money and protect your property by establishing a trust for estate planning. To get useful guidance and assistance in this process, hire a good law firm of a recognised migration lawyer in Perth today.

Best Lawyers in Sydney React to Right to Silence Reforms

 

One of the fundamental rights of a person who is suspected of being involved in a certain crime is the right to silence. Popularly known to people as the right to remain silent, everyone has the right to stay silent or not answer questions asked by the police or any interviewer in an informal setting. The right also covers written statements, not just the verbal ones.

As simple as it is, a lot of suspects forget to practice this. This compromises their defence and places their winning chances at a high risk as the police or the complainant may use it against them during trials. Most of the time, the police may inform you that they just simply need your statement for recordkeeping purposes or that you now get a chance to tell your side of the story. In this situation, all you need to do is to simply inform them that you won’t be giving an interview or making any comment.

Many people in such situations fear that if they don’t give a statement, people may perceive them as already “guilty” of the case. This is not true and this is where the importance of seeking advice from an experienced lawyer Sydney comes in. Practising your right to silence only shows that it is the prosecution’s burden to find evidence to prove the accusations. It also shows that suspects have the right to not participate in any forced interrogations for criminal cases.

Right to Silence Exception

Refusal or declining police interviews is a right. This is the tricky part. It is a common practice for the police to attempt to interview a crime suspect, but they need to inform the suspect of their right to silence and be sure that this message is understood. The only exception for this is when the questions are about one’s name, birth date and address. It is a must that these questions are answered.

Formalisation of the Right

The New South Wales Evidence Act 1995 formalises a person’s right to silence. As stated in section 89 of the legislation, the prosecution or the court may not draw an adverse inference based on the fact that a suspect practice this right unless a prior special warning was given that staying silent will compromise his or her defence, especially in serious indictable cases.

Reactions of the Best Lawyers in Sydney to Reforms 

This basic right is abused by some people, which triggered the NSW Parliament to introduce various criminal law reforms to speed up trials and make them more efficient. Among the reforms introduced are the mandatory statement of an alibi and the mental status of the suspect.

Many lawyer Sydney and the best law firms in Sydney have varying opinions about these reforms. Some of the best lawyers in Sydney criticised the lack of legal help provided to defendants, resulting from the stagnant legal aid budget set by the government 

Other lawyer Sydney mentioned that the reforms lessen the power of this human right during police encounters or interviews. Some of the best law firms in Sydney raised such an argument with the basis that the special warning and staying silent will affect a suspect’s defence in court.

As a response to the points raised by the best lawyers in Sydney and the best law firms in Sydney, the government focused on the argument that the adverse inference is important to eliminate what it calls a wall of silence. However, top-notch lawyers in the city are in doubt of this argument. They further state that the changes in the law only pressure the suspects and do not apply to witnesses.

Budget 2021 and its Implications for Migration

Budget 2021 was released on Tuesday night.  Amongst some of the headline items are:

• Australia’s “economic engine is roaring back to life”, according to Treasurer Josh Frydenberg;
• economic growth is forecast to reach 4.2% in 2021-2022; and
• unemployment is forecast to be as low as 4.75% in 2022-2023.

This all appears to be good news indeed.

However, many of the media outlets have reported that migration will be a “loser” from the Budget. It is expected that international borders will not reopen until mid-2022. Net overseas migration is expected to be in the negative by 96,600 people in 2020-2021. It has not been in the negative since 1916.

There are clearly some challenges, both for intending migrants as well as for Australia’s skills pool. But there are also some opportunities.

Here are my thoughts:

• With the economy continuing to grow, there will be significant demand across many sectors for skilled workers. Anecdotal evidence from employers suggests that this demand will be difficult to meet. The budgetary measures to level-up the skilling of Australians will take time to bear fruit.
• For employers in critical sectors, there remains the ability to apply for exemptions to the border closures to enable skilled workers to enter Australia. This will need to be looked at on a case-by-case basis.
• Employers may consider tapping into a large pool of skilled international student graduates who are looking to remain in Australia in the long term.
• International borders will remain closed to overseas students, although there is some word of localised travel bubbles being negotiated. In Western Australia, we will likely be the last of the States to negotiate a travel bubble, given our historical conservatism in keeping our borders shut. This means that WA educational institutions will continue to bear the brunt of decreased international student numbers.
• Existing international students may consider visa options available to them to remain in Australia longer. This may include further studies to upskill them into an occupation which may support a more permanent visa outcome.
• Perth remains a privileged city despite its relative isolation and ongoing border closures. It is a “regional area” for migration purposes and supports applications for Subclass 494 Regional Employer Sponsored visas for a significant cohort of skilled workers. International students can also take advantage of Perth’s regional status to renew their Subclass 485 Graduate Visas for an extra 12 months (or an extra 24 months if they live and work outside the metropolitan area).

In recent times, we have also fielded a large number of enquiries for former permanent residents looking to return to Australia on Resident Return Visas. In the midst of the COVID pandemic, Australia’s stability and economic strength are attracting these former residents back. Prospects of recovering residency should be explored.

The Government’s new “bright line” tax residency rule, namely that individuals will be deemed Australian tax residents where they are physically present in Australia for a minimum on 183 days in a year, provides clarity for migrants who may have business interests overseas.

If you are an Australian employer looking to sponsor skilled workers to supplement your workforce, or if you are a temporary visa holder looking for options to stay permanently, please get in touch with us. 

To know more, visit https://www.munrodoig.com.au/practice-areas/migration/