According to 2021 Census data, 12% of Australian couple families with dependant children are either step- or blended families. This comprises 8% step families and 4% blended families. The ABS considers a “blended family” to be a couple family with at least one (natural or adopted) child of both partners and at least one step-child of either partner. A “step-family” is defined as a couple family with at least one step-child of either partner and without any natural or adopted children of both partners.¹
Grandparent-led families are also prevalent, with the majority being either single-grandparent or couple-grandparent families with dependant grandchildren, rather than non-dependant grandchildren.¹
Furthermore, divorce rates are on the rise. Nearly 200,000 Australians filed for divorce between 2020 and 2022, the highest number recorded in more than a decade.²
Why complex families require smarter estate planning strategies
As family structures grow increasingly complex, the need to rethink wealth transfer strategies becomes even more crucial. There have been reports of the complexities of (blended) families being the catalyst behind an 80% surge in family disputes over wills and estates over the past decade.³
And just to add to the complexities, a 2022 ruling by the Victorian Supreme Court determined that parents were under a “moral duty” to consider the financial well-being of children from previous relationships, regardless of whether those children, who may even later contest their estate, didn’t live with them.⁴
Investment bonds are emerging as a powerful estate planning tool
Generation Life’s investment bonds provide a flexible and tax-effective alternative for wealth transfers to overcome these core challenges and can help your clients achieve their generational wealth goals by providing:
- MORE CERTAINTY – as a non-estate asset, it can sit outside the will to not form part of the estate.
- MORE CONTROL – provides the ability to transfer ownership tax-free, before or after death with options on how beneficiaries can access funds.
- MORE FLEXIBILITY –the flexibility to control when and how nominated beneficiaries receive inheritances with the added layer of protection in the event of bankruptcy of the investment bond owner.
Discover investment bonds here.
