Carroll and O’Dea Lawyers partner Hanaan Indari, a wills and estates specialist, said several factors made estate planning more important than ever before.

“We have an aging population, a rise in blended families and different life circumstances,” she said. “These plans and documents are put in place to protect you after you’re gone, or if you lose the capacity to make decisions to protect yourself and your assets.” Ms Indari said several circumstances could lead to conflict, but were easily avoidable. “If you’re separated but still legally married, the whole estate could go to that person and your children might be left out in that scenario.”

“Or perhaps, if you’ve started a new relationship and want to look after that person, they might not be included.”

Updating a will is necessary after major life changes, but shouldn’t need to be done too often. “After marriage, divorce, children or if you re-partner, you should update it, but other than that once it’s done you shouldn’t need to revisit it that frequently,” Ms Indari said.

Carroll and O’Dea Lawyers will hold a free seminar on wills and estates in February to help Highlanders think ahead.

Ms Indari said the free seminars would start in Mittagong, with a view to take them throughout NSW. “We’ve had a strong presence in regional NSW for many decades, we try to bring a high level of metropolitan legal advice to where people live,” she said.

Ms Indari said the seminar would explain how people could go about setting documents in place, key things to consider, what can happen when things go wrong, how to avoid that, and what people can do if they’ve been left out of a will.

The free seminar will be held on February 28 at Mittagong RSL from 11am to 12.30pm. Tea, coffee and refreshments will be provided. For bookings and inquiries contact Evelyn Garnett on 4227 1427 or email egarnett@codea.com.au