Experience

Richard has practised for over 40 years in property law transactions and disputes, administrative law and estate planning.

Richard has also acted for statutory corporations and government entities as probity advisor in complex procurements.

Since retiring as a director of RBG, Richard’s focus has been on estate planning and estate administration. Richard acts for a number of high net-worth individuals and self-funded retirees, as well as clients with blended families, couples and single persons.

Richard works with clients’ accountants and financial planners to ensure estate plans operate efficiently and tax effectively to transfer ownership and control of assets to the next generation. Richard advises on a wide range of estate planning issues, including:

• preparing enduring powers of attorney with necessary powers, including to act in conflict transactions and to renew superannuation death benefit nominations;
• how the control of companies and trusts will evolve on death and the strategies that can be implemented to ensure as far as possible that clients’ wishes about the future administration of companies and trusts are observed and to minimise the prospects of later disputes;
• whether discretionary or special disability trusts should be established on death to protect assets from creditors of a beneficiary and also to provide a beneficiary with flexibility to minimise tax on income earned on trust assets;
• advising whether superannuation death benefit nominations should be used and ensuring superannuation income streams continue efficiently after death for the benefit of surviving spouses;
• how assets located overseas and interstate should be administered on death; and
• where a claim might be made against a deceased estate and what strategies can be implemented to assist executors to resist such claims.

Qualifications

• Bachelor of Laws, 1985
• Admitted to Supreme Court of Queensland, 1986
• Entered on roll or practitioners of the High Court of Australia, 1989
• Appointed as legal practitioner member on QCAT under Legal Profession Act 2007
• Accredited practitioner on GGS0111-24 Professional Services Panel for Probity Advisors
• Accredited Probity Advisor – National Resolution Institute
• Bar Association Queensland Panel for advising Barristers on disciplinary complaints

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