Property Accountant/Lawyer in Sydney

Hello Everyone

I am looking for some ideas on where to find an experienced accountant and/or solicitor to handle my grandmothers estate. She has instructed me under power of attorney to develop her 900 m2 block of land in Eastwood NSW and sell them off. She is 80 years old and is an old age pensioner. She intends to move in with us once the house is demolished.

I want to set up the correct legal entities etc to protect her assets and allow her to keep most of her old age pension.

Can anybody recommend someone to help?
 
Hello Everyone

I am looking for some ideas on where to find an experienced accountant and/or solicitor to handle my grandmothers estate. She has instructed me under power of attorney to develop her 900 m2 block of land in Eastwood NSW and sell them off. She is 80 years old and is an old age pensioner. She intends to move in with us once the house is demolished.

I want to set up the correct legal entities etc to protect her assets and allow her to keep most of her old age pension.

Can anybody recommend someone to help?

We are just completing one in Beecroft for a older client moving to independent living locally. Three lot site in a difficult approval area. There wont be any structure to consider as change of ownership before sale could have poor outcomes. Unfortunately the more that is made the more it can affect pension. Our aged care / financial advisers address all that.

Issues include:
- Age pension + Age care / gifting etc
- GST advice as GST applies to sale . Margin scheme will save $
- There is no estate. She is alive and well I believe.
- Potential estate planning / will issues - We refer to a local solicitor for that
- CGT / Income tax strategies and advice
- Valuation issues
- Survey and planning for max dev potential subject to LEP / Local Council
- DA etc
It seems daunting but with right strategies it can be OK and is fairly straight forward. The larger problem is incurring DA costs to do it. A reverse mortgage facility can work if that is an an issue. Payout on completion.
 
As a lawyer I would advise extreme caution.

Some issues on the legal side:

"elder financial abuse" allegations are becoming more common these days. Does grandma have capacity? The laws of equity apply. Is there undue influence by you or others? Unsconsionability?

structure of the power of attorney document. An attorney has fiduciary duties to the donor. Is it in gramdma's best interest to develop a property at this stage of her life? Does the document expressly allow for development? Will you benefit out of it?

Estate planning - What does grandma's will say. Is it valid, is it open to attack, is it appropriate?

What could go wrong? = heaps
legal attack - what if another family member gets you outed as the attorney mid way through a project.
legal costs for the estate in getting out of the contract
How will you borrow? Would a commercial lender lend for such a scenario?
You die
Grandma dies - who is executor of estate if there is a will and it is valid.
You die mid way through.
What if she needs money mid way through? Is her home her only asset?

Assuming all ok
Depending on the circumstances an arms length sale to a discretionary trustee (or other entity) of which grandma is not a beneficiary may be an option. It could be a good or bad option.
 
Agree to all the above. Important to understand client is the landowner. We wouldn't touch it if grandma isn't onboard and certainly would have reservations if other persons stood to benefit. That is where legal side of it must be confirmed before any final decisions are made. These dealings easily affect pensions through asset tests, income tests and home exemptions. Some times family appear to have best intentions but these can be fatal at times. And many POA's (NSW) don't allow for property dealings unless registered anyway.

Agree to the problems if she dies midway. Executor may need explicit instructions in a will to proceed in the estate. However, how would it be funded if bank seeks reverse mortgage payout ? Our client has family backing for this issue and nobody other than owner stands to benefit.
 
Thanks for the responses so far

Grandma is indeed alive and well, but she is slowing down a lot and has recently moved in with us. She spends 6 months here in Sydney and 6 months in QLD with her niece. Power of Attorney was originally granted to her two sons (my uncle and dad) but as those two don't like each other and fight over money all the time, she revoked it and gave it to me and my cousin as joint-attorneys.

She is not demented or anything, but English is her 2nd language and she struggles to understand complex issues surrounding money and property which is why she has us to act on her behalf. However, she does attend meetings with solicitors etc when she wants and if asked to. My cousin and I are not beneficiaries in her will, nor do we stand to profit from developing her land. She wants to do it because my grandfather (deceased) always wanted to develop the land and she can't see herself living on her own again. I believe she may gift a large portion to my father and uncle to help them pay off their mortgages, but the rest will be placed in her AMP investment account. We may even end up keeping one of the dwellings and renting it out so she can live off the rental income if she loses her pension. Whatever happens, it is her money and I will do whatever she tells me to do. I just want to make sure she is getting good advice.

In regards to funding the development, she has $125,000 in cash to use on it and we may need to look at borrowing the balance against the property to satisfy the LVR for a commercial loan. I am a bit concerend about minimum loan sizes for commercial finance. I believe the minimum most fanciers are willing to lend is around $1,000,000.
 
Adam

First step would be our free no obligation mtg to understand what she wants and how it can be done and rough numbers to determine effects. Outcome has to improve her position financially. Its a complex issue that can be easily broken down.

It may be a better idea to consider a DA and sell the land with a DA. DA land is worth much more than without. More costs and risk in the build. Worth asking local agent views on present value of the site ready for a developer to buy.
 
It may be a better idea to consider a DA and sell the land with a DA. DA land is worth much more than without. More costs and risk in the build. Worth asking local agent views on present value of the site ready for a developer to buy.

Yes - I have considered the option of flicking the property to a developer with a DA on it. I am about to send out some emails to local agents about this in order to gain an appraisal on post-DA value. My only concern is that it leaves money on the table that my grandmother could have in her pocket. By seeing the project right through she maximizes her return.

On a personal level, I've been looking for a way into property development for a while and haven't had the money. My nan said she'd like me to use this as an opportunity to cut my teeth on. In saying that, if it is going to be in her interests to sell it with a DA, then that is the the most important factor.
 
Yes - I have considered the option of flicking the property to a developer with a DA on it. I am about to send out some emails to local agents about this in order to gain an appraisal on post-DA value. My only concern is that it leaves money on the table that my grandmother could have in her pocket. By seeing the project right through she maximizes her return.

On a personal level, I've been looking for a way into property development for a while and haven't had the money. My nan said she'd like me to use this as an opportunity to cut my teeth on. In saying that, if it is going to be in her interests to sell it with a DA, then that is the the most important factor.

I would get advice before you do one more thing. Grandma will pay far more tax on more profit if its ordinary income.
 
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