Most people know they should have a will. Far fewer have one.
Linda Santos has spent her career on the other side of that hesitation. A Solicitor at Butler McDermott Lawyers, she works in estate planning, with her focus on drawing wills and enduring powers of attorney. It is work that asks clients to think about difficult things, and her experience is that the difficulty is almost always smaller than people expect.
From Adelaide to the Sunshine Coast
Linda studied law at the University of Adelaide, beginning in 1996 and finishing in 1999.
Estate planning has since taken her into more living rooms and across more kitchen tables than most areas of practice would. It is one of the reasons she stayed.
Why Estate Planning? Because Everyone Needs It
Ask Linda what drew her to the area and the answer is about range rather than technicality.
“I really love that in estate planning I get to meet such a broad cross section of people,” she says. “All ages, all walks of life, and such diversity of life experiences.”
The instructions themselves are often the most revealing part of the process. A client sits down to explain who matters to them and why, and the conversation shifts.
“I love seeing them light up as they talk about the people in their life who are so important to them, and the people they really want to benefit.”
It is a reminder that estate planning documents are not really about assets. They are about the people named in them.
The Change That Still Catches Clients Out
Over the course of Linda’s career, one part of the landscape has shifted more than any other.
“When I first started practising, the majority of people had little or no superannuation, and self managed superannuation funds were not very common.”
That has reversed entirely. Superannuation is now among the largest assets many Australians hold, and it behaves differently to everything else in an estate plan.
The point clients most often miss is this: superannuation does not necessarily form part of your estate. It is held by the trustee of the fund, and when a member dies it is the trustee who determines where the death benefit is paid, guided by the rules of that fund. Putting a valid will in place does not, on its own, direct that decision.
The instrument that does is a binding death benefit nomination.
“It’s a critical tool of estate planning, and something that is so frequently overlooked by clients until they embark on the process,” Linda says.
Requirements vary between funds, including how long a nomination remains valid, which is why nominations are worth reviewing rather than setting once and forgetting. For anyone with meaningful superannuation, it is the difference between assuming your wishes will be followed and making sure they can be.
The Best Part of the Job
For all the technical detail, the moment Linda values most is a simple one.
It comes just after a client signs their will and enduring power of attorney, when they realise the process was nothing like the ordeal they had built it into.
“You would honestly be amazed how many people tell me, once the process is complete, how relieved they are and that they don’t know why they put it off for so long.”
Nobody regrets having done it. A great many people regret the years they spent avoiding it.
What Sets Butler McDermott Apart
Butler McDermott Lawyers has served Nambour and the wider Sunshine Coast since 1913, marking a century of continuous practice in 2013. It remains one of the oldest legal firms in the region.
For Linda, the history matters, but so does what she sees internally.
“The lawyers and the support staff genuinely care about the clients and prioritise providing a great service,” she says. “Butler McDermott strike a balance between old fashioned customer service combined with all the best of modern, cost effective systems.”
That balance describes the estate planning work well. The conversations are personal and unhurried. The mechanics behind them are efficient enough that clients are rarely in the process for as long as they feared.
Talk to Linda About Your Estate Planning
If you have been meaning to sort out a will or an enduring power of attorney, or you are not certain whether your superannuation is covered by the arrangements you already have, Linda can help.
Butler McDermott Lawyers has offices in Nambour and Birtinya. Call 07 5441 1044 to arrange an appointment.
