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Make a gift in your lifetime

We structure the gift so it reaches the person you meant it for, and stays with them.

You want to help now, while you are here to see it land. A deposit for a first home, capital for a business, school fees for a grandchild. The impulse is straightforward and the execution is not. Money handed over informally can be treated as a joint asset if the relationship ends, can be pursued by a creditor who has nothing to do with you, and can be argued about years later when nobody can agree whether it was a gift or an advance on an inheritance. A transfer of property can also trigger a duty and tax bill nobody costed. The generosity is the easy part.

Speak to a lawyer What is included

It stays with the person you gave it to

The structure keeps the money out of a property settlement or a creditor's reach, instead of leaving it exposed the moment it lands.

The tax bill costed, not discovered

Duty and capital gains are worked out before the transfer, so the cost is part of the decision rather than a letter afterwards.

No argument about what you meant

What you intended is recorded at the time, so nobody has to reconstruct it from memory when the estate is divided.

Gift or loan, and why the difference matters

A gift transfers ownership outright with nothing owing and no strings once it is done. A documented loan creates a debt, which can be secured, and which gives you standing if the recipient later faces a creditor or a property settlement. Neither is automatically right. What decides it is the recipient’s circumstances, the size of the transfer, and whether you want the money recoverable if things go wrong for them. Transfers of property carry duty and capital gains consequences that should be costed before anything moves.

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What is the difference between a gift and a loan to family?

A gift transfers ownership with nothing owing, so once made it is the recipient’s money and exposed to whatever happens to them. A loan creates a debt that can be secured. That gives you standing to recover the funds if they face a creditor claim or a relationship breakdown. Many families use a secured loan for exactly that reason.

Is there tax on giving away property in my lifetime?

There can be a significant amount. Transferring real estate or shares is a capital gains event, calculated on market value even if no money changes hands. Duty may also be payable by the recipient. Both should be costed before the transfer, because neither is negotiable afterwards.

Will a gift now affect my estate later?

Yes, in two ways. It reduces what is left to distribute. In some states a transfer made before death can also be drawn back into a notional estate to satisfy a family provision claim. It also affects how siblings view what each of them received, which is why the record matters.

Does gifting affect the aged pension?

It can. Centrelink applies gifting limits and treats amounts above them as a deprived asset for five years. The money is assessed as though you still hold it. Where a pension entitlement is in play, the timing and size of a gift should be checked first.

Thinking about helping now rather than later?

We structure lifetime gifts and family loans so the money reaches the person you intend, survives what happens to them afterwards, and fits your estate plan.

The money leaves your hands. Where it goes after that depends on the paperwork

You want to share what you have built while you can still watch it do some good. What you are not sure about is how to hand it over so it actually stays with the person you gave it to, does not create a tax problem for either of you, and does not turn into an argument between your children after you are gone.

We will advise whether a gift, a documented loan or a trust transfer fits your situation.
We will cost the duty and capital gains consequences before anything moves.
We will prepare the gift deed, loan agreement or transfer documents.
We will secure the loan where that protects the money from third parties.
We will align the transfer with your will so the overall result is what you intend.

Is this your situation?

You have adult children who could use a hand now rather than in thirty years. A deposit, some capital to start something, or simply the room to make a better decision than the one money pressure would force. You are generous but you are not careless: you have seen another family where an informal transfer went wrong, where half of it walked out the door in a separation, or where nobody could later say whether it had been a loan. You want to help without creating a problem, and you want whatever you do to sit sensibly alongside the rest of your estate plan.

What's included in your lifetime gifting service

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Advice on structure, and on gift versus loan.
Duty and capital gains costing before transfer.
Gift deed or loan agreement preparation.
Property transfer documentation and security.
Integration with your existing estate plan.

How generosity comes undone

An undocumented transfer to a child is, on its face, their money. If the relationship ends, it is in the pool to be divided, and a share of what you gave can leave with someone you never intended to benefit. If they are in business and it goes badly, a creditor reaches it on the same logic.

Property causes a different kind of damage. Transferring a title can trigger duty and a capital gains liability calculated on market value even where no money changed hands, and the bill occasionally exceeds what the recipient could raise. The slowest problem is the quietest: with no record of what you intended, the transfer gets re-argued when the estate is divided, one sibling calling it a gift and another calling it an advance. You are not there to say which it was.

How we structure it

We start with the recipient’s actual circumstances, because that decides the structure. Someone in a stable position receiving a modest sum is a different problem from someone in business, or recently partnered, or likely to separate.

Then we pick the instrument and cost it: an outright gift with a deed recording it, a loan documented and where appropriate secured against the property it helps buy, or a transfer made through a trust. We map the duty and capital gains position before anything moves, and we write down what you intended at the time you intended it, which is what stops the argument later. Finally we check the gift against your will, so what you have given now and what you leave later add up to the outcome you actually want.

Three steps to a gift that lands

From the intention to a transfer that is documented and costed.

Understand the recipient

We look at their circumstances, because whether a gift or a secured loan is right depends almost entirely on them.

Choose and cost it

We settle the structure and map the duty and capital gains consequences before anything is transferred.

Document the intention

We prepare the deed, agreement or transfer, record what you intended at the time, and check it against your will.

Lawyers who structure the gift before it moves

Wanting to help while you are alive to see it is a good instinct, and the hesitation that comes with it is also sensible. Both things can be true, and the answer is usually structure rather than restraint.

We advise on lifetime transfers of cash, property and interests in trusts, and we do it alongside the estate plan rather than separately, because a gift made now changes what the will has to do later. Two of our lawyers are full members of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners. We will cost the duty and capital gains position before anything is transferred, so the bill is a decision rather than a surprise.

Our great lawyer guarantee

Six principles we hold to, whatever you bring us and however long it takes.

Take the time

We listen carefully to understand what you want to achieve, then step you through the advice and the documents.

Share our knowledge

We pass on as much as we can, so you can make your own informed decisions.

Stick to our knitting

We only do what we are good at, so you never pay for our learning.

Work as one team

Someone is always available to answer your question or point you the right way.

Fair pricing

A fixed or capped quote for advice and documents, so you do not carry the price risk.

It is your show

We are in it for a front row seat to witness your success, not for our egos.

About to help one of the kids?

Tell us what you want to give, to whom, and roughly what their situation is. We will tell you the structure that protects it and what the transfer will cost.

Speak to a lawyer 1300 654 590