Financial and Legal: Planning Ahead and Protecting Your Wishes

Most families put off decisions about will, powers of attorney and aged care costs, simply because they don't know where to start. We help you work through what matters to you and apply to your situation, then connect you with the right person to help.

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Why Financial and Legal Planning Matters as We Age

Financial and legal planning is easiest to do while there's no urgency behind it. Waiting until a health crisis forces the decision often means less choice, more stress, and decisions made under pressure rather than with a clear head.

In Victoria, if these documents aren't in place before someone loses capacity, family members can't simply step in. They need to apply to VCAT (the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal) for guardianship or administration, a process that takes time and where the tribunal, not the family, decides who's appointed and on what terms. Planning ahead avoids that.

Common Challenges

Financial and legal planning for later life brings up questions many people put off until they can't be avoided:

Not knowing where to start

Superannuation, wills, powers of attorney and aged care costs can all feel like separate, overwhelming problems.

Uncertainty about capacity

Families often aren't sure what happens if a loved one is no longer able to make their own financial decisions.

Fear of getting it wrong

Without independent guidance, it's hard to know which professional to trust or what questions to even ask.

Vulnerability to financial abuse

Older Australians can be targets of financial exploitation, sometimes from people close to them.

None of these are signs that something has gone wrong. They're common, and they respond well to early planning and the right support.

How Planwise Can Help

We help you navigate the financial and legal decisions that come with later life, including:

Superannuation, retirement budgeting and scaling down work
Insurance, life, health, car, home and pet
Carer Allowance, Carer Payment and age discrimination protections
Financial abuse protection, capacity assessments and elder abuse support
Wills, powers of attorney and guardianship (VCAT)
Advance care planning, directives and funeral services

How Planwise Helps You Plan with Confidence

We help you work through the financial and legal side of later life step by step. Our consultants provide financial planning directly, and connect you with trusted, independent professionals for legal matters.

Financial Planning for Later Life

Retirement brings financial questions that don't come up earlier in life, like how much superannuation is enough, how to budget on a reduced income, and how to plan for aged care costs if they arise. Our consultants work through these with you directly, as part of your broader plan.

Protecting Yourself and Your Decisions

An enduring power of attorney lets you choose, in advance, who makes financial or personal decisions on your behalf if you're ever unable to. We help you understand the difference between this and guardianship through VCAT, when a capacity assessment may be needed, and how to protect against elder financial abuse.

Estate and End-of-Life Planning

Wills, advanced care directives and funeral planning are easier to think through before they're urgently needed. We help you understand what each document covers and connect you with the right professional to put them in place.

Financial and Legal in Practice

Discover what our valued clients have to say about their experience working with us. Their success stories and positive feedback motivate us to continue providing outstanding service and support.

"Although we have been together and lived together for most of our lives, we were needing very different things and we were finding it difficult to work out what was best for us each and as a couple. Planwise asked the most helpful questions and their plan considered both of our perspectives. I appreciated being able to contact them when a question came up or a change occurred, it made things much more manageable."

Bernadette

"Administrative tasks are not my strong suit nor is thinking ahead. The Planwise advisors were worth their weight in gold. They developed a very clear plan for me and provided pretty much step by step guidance so that I could sell my car and apartment and relocate happily."

Peter

"I was at a point where I had ideas about what I would like to be able to do in my 70s and 80s but I was not sure if it was realistic financially or practically. The way in which the Planwise Advisors knew what to consider and how to bring all the different factors together made me much less overwhelmed about the future. I'm looking forward to what is next!"

Annabelle

"My siblings and I are scattered across the state and although we are all involved with Mum and Dad, things were becoming confusing and we didn't have a good plan for how best to support them. The plan from Planwise Australia not only gave Mum and Dad clarity and choices, it's meant my siblings and I are now on the same page to be able to support them."

Tim