If you’ve ticked “get a will sorted” off your to-do list, it’s fair to feel like your estate planning is done. For a lot of Cairns families we speak with, that’s exactly where the thinking stops — and it’s an understandable assumption. A will feels like the whole job. In practice, it’s usually just one part of it.
Estate planning is really about making sure your wishes are followed and the people who matter to you are looked after, in every way your affairs are structured — not only the assets a will can legally control. Two of the pieces that get missed most often are what happens to your superannuation, and who can make decisions for you if you’re unable to make them yourself.
Your Will Doesn’t Automatically Cover Your Super
This catches a lot of people off guard: for most Australians, superannuation isn’t a personal asset that a will can direct. Your super is held in trust by your fund, and the fund’s trustee decides who receives your death benefit — unless you’ve told them otherwise.
That’s where a death benefit nomination comes in. Depending on your fund and the type of nomination available, you may be able to formally direct who your super (and any attached life insurance) should go to, giving the trustee clear instructions to follow rather than leaving the decision open to their discretion. Some nominations need to be kept up to date or renewed periodically to remain valid — the exact rules vary by fund, so it’s worth checking directly with yours.
Without a valid nomination in place, a meaningful portion of your estate could end up distributed in a way you never intended, even if your will is otherwise thorough and up to date.
Enduring Power of Attorney: Planning for While You’re Still Here
A will only takes effect after you’ve passed away. It says nothing about what happens if you’re seriously ill, injured, or otherwise unable to manage your own financial or personal affairs while you’re still alive.
That’s the gap an enduring power of attorney is designed to fill. It lets you formally choose someone you trust to make financial (and, depending on the arrangement, personal or health) decisions on your behalf if you’re ever unable to make them yourself. Without one in place, your family may need to apply through a tribunal or court process to gain the authority to act for you often at a stressful time, and without the certainty of knowing it’s what you would have chosen.
Why These Pieces Get Missed
None of this is because Cairns families aren’t thinking carefully about the future. It’s usually because estate planning gets mentally filed under “legal paperwork” rather than “financial planning” — so it’s addressed once, with a solicitor, and rarely revisited alongside the rest of a person’s financial picture.
In reality, your will, your super nominations, your power of attorney arrangements, and your broader financial plan all need to work together. A change in one — a new relationship, a growing family, a shift in your super balance can mean the others need a second look.
A Simple Starting Checklist
If it’s been a while since you reviewed your estate planning as a whole, these are worth checking:
- Is your will current and does it reflect your circumstances today, not when it was first written?
- Do you have a death benefit nomination on file with each super fund you hold, and is it still valid?
- Have you nominated an enduring power of attorney, and does that person know what’s expected of them?
- Have your beneficiaries been reviewed since any major life change — marriage, separation, a new child, a blended family?
- Does your estate plan reflect your actual assets, including super, insurance, and anything held in trust or jointly?
What “Working Together” Actually Looks Like
In practice, this often means a solicitor drafting or updating your will, your super fund holding your death benefit nomination, and your financial adviser making sure the strategy behind both actually reflects your current wishes and family situation. None of these three pieces is more important than the others — but when only one of them gets attention, the other two can quietly drift out of date.
This matters more than it might seem, because estate planning isn’t a one-off event. A new grandchild, a second marriage, a change in your super balance, or simply the passage of several years since your will was last reviewed can all mean it’s time to revisit the plan as a whole, not just the document that happens to come to mind first.
How Fowlers Group Can Help
Estate planning sits within our ADVISE pillar, alongside retirement planning, insurance guidance and tax planning — because the strongest plans treat these as connected, not separate, decisions. As a CEFEX-certified fiduciary advisor since 2016, we’re required to act in your best interests, and we work alongside your solicitor and accountant (through our professional network) rather than trying to replace them, so the legal, tax and financial pieces of your plan actually line up.
This is general information only and doesn’t take into account your personal objectives, financial situation or needs. Speak with us about how it applies to your own circumstances.
If your will hasn’t been looked at alongside your super and power of attorney arrangements recently, it’s worth a conversation. Call us on 1300 855 849 to arrange a chat — face-to-face at our Lake Street office, by phone, or online, whatever suits you.
Read more:
- “Moneysmart’s guide to estate planning” → moneysmart.gov.au (estate planning / wills section)
- ATO’s information on superannuation death benefits → ato.gov.au
