Wills and enduring powers of attorney (EPOAs) are the two documents almost everyone delays. They aren’t anyone’s idea of a fun weekend — but together they cover what happens if you die and what happens if you’re alive but unable to make decisions for yourself. We handle both, in plain English, and there’s a single form at the bottom to get either (or both) underway.
Wills
Writing a will can seem daunting. It’s grown-up life admin, and of course it means you have to think about death… It’s not really anyone’s idea of a fun weekend activity.
But it’s important! It not only gives you peace of mind that things will be taken care of after you’re gone, it also makes things much simpler for those you leave behind.
There are websites out there with robots that spit out automated, template wills. We don’t offer that. There are even law firms that will write you a will for free. We are not one of those firms. Why not? Because writing a will is about so much more than just a fancy piece of paper. It’s about the process you go through with a good lawyer who asks the right questions and gives you practical legal advice.
When you write a will with Convex, we take the time to learn about you, your family, your finances and your future. This gives us the context to provide you with the appropriate guidance for protecting your assets, providing for your kids, and safeguarding your legacy.
Our wills are a quality no one can afford to do for free, and a service that no robot can match. Let us step you through our simple will writing process, to set you up for life, and for death.
A will in 4 easy steps
Step 1: You fill in our ‘initial information form’ below. Do it now! It will take about 10 minutes and it’s OK if you don’t know all the answers.
Step 2: We’ll get in touch to discuss your situation, your answers, and make some suggestions. This can be in person, over the phone or online – whatever suits you.
Step 3: We take the info from the form and our chat, and mould it into a new will, ready for your feedback. We can go back-and-forth editing it with you until the will is polished and finalised!
Step 4: Can we get your autograph? We meet for you to sign your new will, or we give you step-by-step instructions on how to sign and witness it properly (that’s really important!).
You’re Done!
Easy to understand pricing
Everyone’s situation is different, and so is their will. Our pricing reflects that more complex situations require work and advice. We have a base standard fee and then our fees increase where complex situations apply, such as the following:
- You have a family trust
- You are a blended family
- You are wanting to leave numerous gifts or leave your house as a separate gift
- You are wishing to let someone live in your house
- You wish to treat your children unequally
- You have overseas assets
- You do not wish to provide adequately for your partner or children
- You have a signed contracting out agreement with your current partner
Broad Estate Planning fees may apply where you would like advice regarding the following:
- Whether to establish a trust or the adequacy of an existing trust
- Implications or effects of the Property (Relationships) Act 1976
- Gifting assets
- Rest home care subsidy
- Other more general estate planning or asset management
Standard Wills
For one person $750 + GST
For a couple $1,250 + GST
Complex Wills
For one person $1,350 + GST
For a couple $2,050 + GST
We will invoice 80% of the total fees after providing you with the draft of your will. The remaining balance will be invoiced once the will has been signed.
Sometimes specialist asset planning advice is required. We will let you know if this is the case, and this work will be charged on a time spent basis in accordance with our Terms of Engagement.
Enduring Powers of Attorney
What’s a Power of Attorney? And how’s this one ‘Enduring’?
A Power of Attorney is where you give someone else power to make decisions on your behalf. This used to be done all the time before email and Zoom - like whenever you went overseas, and you needed someone to take care of your important business back home.
Now we generally talk about ‘Enduring’ Powers of Attorney. This is where you give someone else the power to make decisions on your behalf, but the power ‘endures’ past you losing your mental capacity. So, if you sustain a head injury, or have a disease that makes you unable to make decisions for yourself, your Attorney can make them for you. (Once you die, that decision-making power passes to the Executor under your will.)
There are two types of Enduring Powers of Attorney (“EPOAs”) - one for Property and one for Personal Care and Welfare. These allow you to appoint different people to make decisions about these different parts of your life.
You might not see the point of making EPOAs now. But you need to make them before you lose your mental decision-making powers. Having EPOAs in place makes it so much easier for family members left with tough decisions to make, and it means they don’t need to go through the Family Court to get court orders.
When you make an EPOA with Convex, we don’t just go through the motions of advising you on a standard form. We take the time to sit down and learn about your family, your finances and your future. This gives us the context to provide you with the appropriate guidance for protecting your assets, providing for your kids, and safeguarding your legacy. And you still get a fancy piece of paper.
It is important to note: When signing an EPOA, the person making the document (the donor) must receive independent legal advice from the legal professional who witnesses their signature. This legal professional must be independent of each attorney named in the EPOA and cannot act for, advise or have any conflict of interest with that attorney. There is an exception where two people are appointing each other.
If we have acted for any of the people you wish to appoint as an attorney, we may not be able to witness your signature. If this is the case you will need to see another law firm for advice and witnessing. You can choose whether you’d still like us to prepare the documents and you can meet with another firm to have them witnessed, or whether you just deal with the other law firm.
We are happy to work with you however works best and can assist to arrange a referral to another law firm to make this process as straightforward as possible.
An EPOA in 5 simple steps
Step 1: You fill in our ‘initial info’ form below. Do it now! It will take you 10 minutes and there’s no hard questions!
Step 2: One of our team will be in touch to confirm your instructions.
Step 3: We meet for a chat. In person, or online – whatever suits you, to understand what you want in your EPOA.
Step 4: We take the info from our chat, and mould it into new EPOAs for Property and Personal Care and Welfare, ready for your feedback. We can go back-and-forth editing it with you until the EPOAs are polished and finalised!
Step 5: Can we have your autograph? We meet with you to advise you on the EPOA and sign it. Your Attorneys also need to sign the EPOA with a witness.
You’re Done!
Easy to understand pricing
To give you an idea of how much EPOAs might cost you:
If witnessing:
One person Property and Personal EPOA — $595 + GST
Two people Property and Personal EPOA — $995 + GST
If not witnessing:
One person Property and Personal EPOA — $350 + GST
Two people Property and Personal EPOA — $695 + GST
We will invoice 80% of the total fees after providing you with the draft of your EPOAs. The remaining balance will be invoiced once the EPOA has been signed.
All work is subject to our standard Terms of Engagement, which can be found here.
Ready to get started? Complete the form below.
The one form below covers both wills and enduring powers of attorney — fill in whichever you need (or both). It takes about 10 minutes, and it’s fine if you don’t know every answer.