De Maria & Associates
Wills and Estates Lawyers Cottles Bridge
De Maria & Associates offer Wills & Power of Attorney services in Northern Suburbs including Doreen, Mill Park, Whittlesea, Bundoora, Diamond Creek, Wollert, Hurstbridge, South Morang and Epping.
The importance of Wills in handling your personal and business assets cannot be overstated; they necessitate thoughtful planning and consideration. Our team stands ready to offer guidance and support in drafting your Will, identifying who will be accountable for your Estate (Executor), and who will inherit your assets (Beneficiaries), especially in cases involving blended families, children with disabilities, and significant life changes.
The process of creating a Will is important to assure that all your loved ones are accommodated, and your assets are disseminated as per your desires upon your departure.
Making a Will can appear challenging, but our team can help guide you through the entire process to lessen the chance of someone disputing your Will. Often, a Will is challenged if a family member feels left out or insufficiently included. Other disputes can arise due to claims of lack of capacity, undue influence, or breach of trust.
Enduring Power of Attorney (Financial)
This is a legal instrument whereby you assign a reliable individual (known as “the attorney”) to make personal, financial, legal, and property-related decisions for you, should you lose the mental capability to make such decisions.
You bestow an Enduring Power of Attorney upon a trusted individual to make beneficial financial and personal decisions for you.
A few of the roles an attorney can fulfill on your behalf are: settling your bills, signing papers, executing property transactions, and managing shares or bank accounts.
Medical Treatment Decision
Every person possesses the right to make decisions about their own medical treatment. However, if you become incapable of making decisions, either on a temporary or permanent basis, you can opt to assign a representative who can make medical decisions on your behalf. The act of designating someone for this responsibility can be quite strenuous, but our team is here to help and guide you in deciding who and when you should nominate a trusted person to take on your medical decisions.
Advanced Care Directive
It’s a legally binding instrument that enables you to set forth explicit provisions for your future health, care, and end of life scenarios. This document contains your decisions and preferences for medical treatment and outlines what kind of medical treatment you want and don’t want during emergencies. You should seek the advice of your doctor when drafting an Advance Care Directive document.
We offer the following expertise:
- Wills
- Codicils
- Testamentary Trusts
- Estate Planning
- Enduring Powers of Attorney (Financial)
- Enduring Powers of Attorney (Medical)
- Binding Death Nominations