---
title: "7 Quick questions about your estate plan - Sapience Financial"
description: "Find out important questions to ask yourself when planning your Will. Consider various scenarios such as families with children, bankruptcy, divorce, businesses risks, and more."
url: "https://www.sapience.com.au/blog/quick-questions-about-your-estate-plan"
date: "2026-06-01T20:19:50+00:00"
language: "en-GB"
---

#  7 Quick questions about your estate plan

- ⚖️ Estate Law & Succession Planning
- [ family provision ](https://www.sapience.com.au/all-tags/family-provision)
- [ co-parenting ](https://www.sapience.com.au/all-tags/co-parenting)
- [ family protection ](https://www.sapience.com.au/all-tags/family-protection)
- [ enduring power of guardianship ](https://www.sapience.com.au/all-tags/enduring-power-of-guardianship)
- [ modern estate planning ](https://www.sapience.com.au/all-tags/modern-estate-planning)
- [ step families ](https://www.sapience.com.au/all-tags/step-families)
- [ ⚖️ Estate Law & Succession Planning ](https://www.sapience.com.au/insights/estate-law-succession)

  ![father playing with his daughters riding in a wheelbarrow](https://www.sapience.com.au/images/blog/quick-questions-about-your-estate-plan-sapience-financial.jpg) 7 Key Issues to consider when you're planning on making a Will. Reading Time: 4 minutes

---

### Questions to ask when planning your Will

### 7 Key Issues to consider when you're planning on making a Will.

So you think that making a Will really isn't necessary and 'the government will look after things'.

You might like to think again and **ask yourself these questions** to better appreciate the bigger picture of what modern estate planning really involves.

### Quick questions to ask yourself, ask your spouse (and then your solicitor)

Today's families and relationship structures are increasingly complex, and so are the issues involved when you're making sure everyone you love is looked after.

Here's a list **of questions to ask yourself** to start thinking about your Modern Estate Plan. Choose a tab that may relate to your situation.

 ###  Questions for - **Families with children**

- Have you nominated a Guardian for your children?
- Should your Will make provision for investment income to be paid through a trust to avoid the minors losing much of the income from the estate in tax?
- Do you have sufficient assets in the estate to provide an income stream to the minors?
- If not, have you sufficient life insurance to create an estate for them as an alternative?
- Does your Will make provision for your assets to be held in a trust to protect the minors' interests?

###  Questions for - **Families with children with bankruptcy, divorce, or businesses risks**

- Does your Will cater for a testamentary trust for each child to protect your assets from creditors or bankruptcy?
- Does your Will protect your assets if a child faces divorce - so your assets do not pass to your children's ex-spouses?

###  Questions for - **Families with a large amount of Superannuation or an SMSF**

- Should you make a binding nomination with your superannuation fund to provide certainty as to who will receive your superannuation benefits? Or do you want your super paid to your estate?
- Will your superannuation benefits be paid in the most tax-effective manner? If the payment of your superannuation is made to non-dependants, it must be taken as a lump sum and tax of up to 16.5% could be payable. If your superannuation is paid as a lump sum to dependants there is no tax.

###  Questions for - **Families with siblings who may be spendthrifts**

- Does your Will provide a structure that will prevent spendthrift children from squandering your assets?
- Do you want your Will to have provisions that will maintain your assets for the benefit of your grandchildren?
- If this is a concern, there are specialised products that can be put in place that are outside your Will and the reach of those who may challenge it.

###  Questions for - **Families that own a Family Business**

- Will your family business pass to those that you want to control it?
- Will the control of the business pass in the most tax-effective manner?

###  Questions for - **Families with members who are disabled or infirm or who have special needs**

- Does your Will have a trust structure to provide for the long-term care of family members who are disabled or infirm?

###  Questions for - **Multiple Marriages and children from other marriages**

- Does your Will ensure that children from all your relationships and marriages will be looked after?
- Do you need your Will to ensure that your assets pass to your children and not those of your current spouse?
- Does your Will protect your current spouse from the claims of previous spouses?
- Does your Will need to provide for an ex-spouse?
- Do you need to protect against your partner's Will being changed after you pass away?

Sapience has a complete [Modern Estate Planning solution](https://www.sapience.com.au/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=111&Itemid=805) under its specialty brand Finally Sorted, Modern Estate Planning.

- We work with one of Australia's preeminent Estate & Tax Planning Barristers
- All your documents are drafted by an Australia Law firm (and not a marking company selling a one-size-fits-all document template
- You get Client Professional Privilege
- Secure storage of scanned executed doccuedmtns
- A great first step is to [Watch our fun explainer video about the basics of Modern Estate Planning](https://www.sapience.com.au/index.php?Itemid=819)[.](https://www.sapience.com.au/index.php?option=com_osdownloads&view=item&Itemid=519)
- Then download our *Australian Consumer Education Guide*, [The 7 Myths of Estate Planning](https://www.sapience.com.au/index.php?option=com_osdownloads&view=item&id=4&Itemid=752).

**Do we sound like the type of people you'd like to do business with?**
 Call us today on 1300 137 403 or email us [here](https://www.sapience.com.au/index.php?Itemid=704) for a no-obligation private chat about your situation.

---

![author pic drew browne](https://www.sapience.com.au/images/author-pic/contact-drew-browne-advisor-sapience-financial.jpg)**Drew Browne** is a specialty Financial Risk Advisor working with Small Business Owners & their Families, Dual Income Professional Couples, and diverse families. He's an award-winning writer, speaker, financial adviser and business strategy mentor. His business Sapience Financial Group is committed to using business solutions for good in the community. In 2015 he was certified as a B Corp., and in 2017 was recognised in the inaugural Australian National Businesses of Tomorrow Awards. Today he advises Small Business Owners and their families, on how to protect themselves, from their businesses. He writes for successful Small Business Owners and Industry publications. You can read his Modern Small Business Leadership Blog [here](https://www.sapience.com.au/index.php?Itemid=1267). You can connect with him on [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/drewbrowne/).  Any information provided is general advice only and we have not considered your personal circumstances. Before making any decision on the basis of this advice you should consider if the advice is appropriate for you based on your particular circumstance.

![Written by Human Not made by AI sapience financial ](https://www.sapience.com.au/images/icons/not-made-by-AI-sapience-financial-black.png)

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