Wealth managers and private bankers often hear about a client’s family before anyone else does: a daughter settling in Singapore, a son taking over the business in Kuala Lumpur, a parent in Taipei who no longer manages the paperwork. Succession conversations tend to start in a portfolio review, long before a lawyer is involved.
This article explains, in general terms, how Chua Tan Associates works with advisers when a client is ready to turn that conversation into an estate plan under Australian law. The division is easy to state: you grow and protect the portfolio; we help protect the family’s ownership and succession. Making it work takes a clear process.
We have written separately about the legal issues where portfolios meet estate plans, about private bankers, financial planners and assets held in trust, and about super nominations. This article is about the working relationship.
Who the client is
When you introduce a client, that person becomes our client. We act for them, not for the adviser, and our duties of confidentiality and loyalty are owed to them, even where the adviser has a long relationship with the family.
A couple may instruct us jointly to prepare complementary Wills. That can work well where goals align, but each person needs to understand that information from one may be shared with the other, and that if their interests diverge, for example over children from an earlier relationship, we may not be able to keep acting for both. Parents and adult children, or sibling co-owners, raise similar questions. We consider conflicts at the outset and if circumstances change.
The introduction and consent to share information
An introduction usually begins with a short call or email outlining the family and the reason for the referral. Before personal or financial details are passed on, the client should consent. Privacy and confidentiality obligations apply on both sides, and a written authority from the client setting out what may be shared between the adviser, the firm and the accountant can avoid uncertainty later. The client also decides how much of the legal advice the adviser sees.
A joint meeting or a separate one
A joint first meeting can be efficient: the adviser explains the structures, and the client hears both perspectives together. A separate meeting also has its place. A lawyer generally needs to take Will instructions from the client directly and be satisfied the client is acting freely and has capacity, particularly where the client is elderly or a beneficiary is present. A joint session on structures and a private session on the family’s wishes is a common combination.
From asset summary to structure map
The adviser is often best placed to supply a summary of assets and structures: accounts and platforms and how each is owned, lending, super and insurance, family trusts and companies, and offshore holdings. It need not be perfect, but it should show how each asset is held.
We use it to map the structure legally: which assets may pass under the Will and which may not, such as jointly owned assets, super, and assets in a trust or company, and where control of each structure sits. It usually reveals the issues: appointor provisions that no longer fit, a sole director, or a nomination that may not work as intended.
Scope, timeline and costs
We then agree the scope with the client, including what is left to other advisers or jurisdictions, and a realistic timeline, which often depends on information from overseas. Clients receive a written costs disclosure before work begins.
Drafts explained in the client’s language
Drafts are explained to the client before signing. Testamentary trusts, appointor clauses and enduring powers of attorney can be unfamiliar even to sophisticated clients, and what a clause does matters more than how it reads. Where it helps, we explain the drafts in Mandarin or Cantonese.
Signing, including for clients overseas
Signing formalities differ between states and types of document, and a document not signed correctly may be invalid or need a court application later.
Victoria allows Wills and enduring powers of attorney to be signed electronically and witnessed by video link, but only within limits: a prescribed procedure must be followed, including a special witness, and the people involved need to be in Victoria. A client living in Singapore or Hong Kong may not be able to use it. Clients overseas may sign during a visit, or abroad under arrangements planned in advance, sometimes with a local lawyer or notary. Our notary public can prepare and certify documents for use overseas.
Implementation and periodic review
A signed Will does not complete the plan. Accounts may need retitling, nominations made, trust and company records updated, and powers of attorney provided to banks and platforms. The adviser’s involvement often matters most here, because the adviser sees the portfolio side. Our companion article covers what to check together. Plans also need review after life events, and periodically.
Respecting each other’s role
The adviser continues to give investment advice under their own licence and obligations. We advise on the documents and structures that decide who controls and receives the assets. We do not recommend financial products or make portfolio decisions, and we would not expect the adviser to advise on the legal effect of a Will or trust deed. Where a question touches both, such as investment powers in a testamentary trust, we work through it together. Tax questions go to the accountant or registered tax agent.
Communication protocols
It helps to agree a named contact at each firm, what the client wants copied to the adviser, secure document exchange, and how instructions are confirmed. Instructions about the estate plan itself should come from the client.
Clients and assets across Asia
Many families hold assets or have relatives in Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, mainland China, Taiwan or Indonesia, where Australian documents may not be effective. Some of these places have their own succession rules, which may include reserved shares for family members, local probate requirements or rules that depend on religion. We advise on the Australian side and work with a network of local lawyers who advise on their own law, so that Australian and offshore documents are considered together rather than contradicting or revoking each other.
How we work with you
We act for your client and share information with you only with their consent. We can meet the client with you, separately or both, in Melbourne or online; map the structures from your asset summary; agree scope and timing with the client; explain documents in English, Mandarin or Cantonese; plan signing for clients overseas; and coordinate implementation and reviews with you and the accountant.
Frequently asked questions
Does the estate lawyer act for the client or the financial adviser?
The lawyer acts for the client. With the client’s consent, the adviser can receive information and help with implementation, but the lawyer’s duties are owed to the client.
Can a private banker attend the estate planning meeting?
Often yes, if the client wishes, though the lawyer may need time alone with the client.
Can a client overseas sign a Victorian Will by video?
Victoria’s video-link procedure requires participants to be in Victoria, so it may not suit a client abroad. Other arrangements can be planned depending on the document and country.
Every family’s situation is different, and the answer often turns on details. Book a consultation so we can review your documents and circumstances before you act.
How Chua Tan Associates can help
Chua Tan Associates has practised in Melbourne since 1990 and works alongside wealth managers, private bankers and financial advisers whose clients are Asian families with assets in Australia and overseas, from first conversation to signed and implemented documents. Justin Chua trained in accounting (Bachelor of Commerce, accounting major), is an affiliate member of STEP (the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners), and advises on the legal and tax structure of family wealth together. He is a Nationally Accredited Mediator and an Accredited Family Business Advisor. We work with the client’s accountant and registered tax agents and with lawyers in Asia, our notary public prepares documents for use overseas, and we advise in English, Mandarin and Cantonese.
Important: This article is general information only and must not be relied on. It is not legal, tax or financial advice, does not take your circumstances into account, and may not reflect changes in the law after publication. Laws of other countries may also apply. Do not act or refrain from acting on the basis of this article. Reading it or contacting us does not create a lawyer–client relationship. Please book a consultation for advice on your situation.
Related reading
Chua Tan Associates acts for families, executors, trustees and their professional advisers in estate planning, estate administration and estate disputes in Australia and across borders. To arrange a confidential consultation, please contact our Melbourne office on +61 3 9602 3988 or submit an enquiry. Advice is available in English, Mandarin and Cantonese.
Justin Chua (蔡智勋), lawyer and mediator, Chua Tan Associates, Melbourne. General information only, not legal or tax advice.
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