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Personalised expert advise and strategies for generational succession of wealth.

19/10/2026

Your new partner is your executor and your children from your first marriage are your beneficiaries. What could go wrong?

Not necessarily anything. Plenty of partners do this well, but the executor controls the estate.

They collect the assets, pay the debts, and decide how and when things are distributed. When that person also benefits under the Will, or lives in the family home, their interests can pull in a different direction from the children's.

In a blended family, that's often where suspicion starts, even when nobody has done anything wrong.

Some families appoint two executors, one from each side, or an independent professional alongside the partner.

An executor has legal duties to every beneficiary, but when an estate takes months to finish, trust between the people involved matters as much as the paperwork.

Who would your children want in charge? 🍃

17/10/2026

Can a beneficiary witness your Will?

In Victoria, legally, yes. A person who witnesses a Will isn't disqualified from receiving a gift under it, and neither is their spouse.

hat isn't true everywhere - in some States, a gift to a witness can be void.

However, even if it is allowed, it is best to avoid using a beneficiary as one of the witnesses.

Where a beneficiary is a witness to a Will, it can invite questions about whether they had an influence over the content of the Will and whether the person making the Will was signing it freely and voluntarily, with a good understanding of the content.

Those questions can be raised when the Will goes to probate.

The simple fix is to use two independent witnesses who don't stand to gain anything. It costs nothing and it removes an argument before it starts.

Does anyone who signed your Will also appear in it? 🍃

15/10/2026

If a Will can be contested, what's the point of making one?

Most Wills are never contested, so having one is better than not.

Without a Will, you've still made a plan of sorts. You've let the law decide who's in control and who receives what, and that isn't always what you'd have chosen.

With a Will, you choose your executor and your beneficiaries. A well prepared Will also shows thoughtful decision making, which matters if someone does question it. How your assets are held, including trusts and superannuation, can make a difference to the risk of a challenge too.

A Will can't stop every dispute, but it puts your wishes on record.

Have you got a Will, or has the law got one for you? 🍃

13/10/2026

If you're single with no children and you die without a Will, can your assets be distributed to your friends?

No. Without a Will, Victorian law follows a set order of relatives, not friendships. With no partner or children, that generally means parents first, then siblings and their children, then more distant relatives in a set order. If no eligible relative can be found, the estate can pass to the State.

A friend, a carer or a long term companion who doesn't meet the legal definition of a partner has no entitlement, however close they were or who you talk to about your desire to give them something.

A Will is necessary to ensure that your assets pass as you intend.🍃

11/10/2026

1 week to go until A Night at the Vines on Friday 16th October - Fusion's 10th Annual Gala raising much needed funds to support young people on the Peninsula. It's not too late to get your tickets!

09/10/2026

Meet Emma.

Emma is a law clerk with our estate planning team, and she's studying law alongside the work. Her days are spent preparing documents like Powers of Attorney, which let someone you trust make decisions on your behalf if you can no longer make them yourself.

They don't get talked about as much as Wills, but in some situations they can be even more important. 🍃

07/10/2026

Can you leave your dog $10,000 in your Will?

Not directly. Under Australian law, pets are property, and property can't own property. A clause that says "I give $10,000 to my dog" doesn't work the way people expect.

Instead, consider leaving your pet, together with money for care, to a trusted person. You may also consider whether you intend this to be binding or if it is more of a request to give your Executor some flexibility in the decision.

A trust for a pet's care can add structure, but it's less enforceable than a trust for a person, because a pet can't step in if something goes wrong.

Either way, ask the person first. They can say no, and a Will can't make them say yes.

Have you asked who would actually take your pet? 🍃

05/10/2026

If you and your partner own your home as joint tenants, does your Will decide what happens to your half?

No. Joint tenants don't own separate halves the way most people assume. When one owner dies, their interest passes automatically to the surviving owner, and the Will doesn't get a say.

For a blended family, that can mean a home ends up entirely with a second partner when the intention was for it to reach the children from a first relationship.

The alternative is to ensure that the title is held as tenants in common (rather than Joint Proprietors). This ensures that each owner holds a separate share of the property which can be directed by the Will, so each owner's wishes can be enforced.

Neither structure is wrong. The problem is when the title says one thing and the Will says another.

Do you actually know how your home is held? 🍃

03/10/2026

Planning ahead can feel overwhelming when you are dealing with cancer, or supporting someone who is.

Putting key legal arrangements in place can bring certainty, reduce stress and help make sure wishes are respected.

Olivetree Legal is joining the McCabe Centre for Law and Cancer for a free webinar on wills, powers of attorney and planning ahead.

Rohani Bixler will be joined by Tarishi Desai and Sarah McHutchison from the McCabe Centre to cover the legal documents and decisions that can become relevant during treatment, survivorship and end of life care, and where to find legal and other support.

Open to people affected by cancer, carers and family members, and anyone who wants to understand wills and powers of attorney a little better.

Tuesday 24 November, 11:00am AEDT, online via Microsoft Teams.

Register free via the link in our bio. 🍃

01/10/2026

Why does making a Will feel so stressful?

It is completely normal to feel overwhelmed at the thought of making a Will, especially when your situation is not straightforward, a blended family, a child with disability, or circumstances that do not fit neatly into a standard template.

Putting it off does not make any of that simpler, it just delays it. Here is what actually happens when you sit down with a lawyer to work through it.

🍃 Your specific family situation gets looked at properly, not fitted into a generic structure.
🍃 The process gets explained in plain language, without jargon left unexplained.
🍃 The protections that matter to you and the people you love get put in writing, clearly.

None of that removes the weight of thinking about it. But having a clear, properly considered plan tends to feel a lot lighter than carrying the uncertainty around indefinitely. 🍃

Address

750 Nepean Highway
Mount Martha, VIC
3934

Opening Hours

Monday	9am - 6pm
Tuesday	9am - 6pm
Wednesday	9am - 6pm
Thursday	9am - 6pm
Friday	9am - 6pm

Telephone

+61359959120

Website

http://www.olivetreelegal.com.au/

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