14 October 2026
Substack
The exemption most wills won't meet →
The Government spared testamentary trusts from the 30% minimum tax, then drafted the exemption so most existing testamentary trust wills won't meet it.
Estate Planning & Wills
You have built something significant. The right plan makes sure it stays that way.
Over time, most families accumulate more than they realise - assets, property, superannuation, a business. The risk is whether the structures around them are incomplete, tax inefficient, or leave those they love exposed.
Book a free introductory call
Free 20-minute call. · No obligation. · Fixed fees, agreed before any work begins.
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Rachael brings more than two decades' experience in estate planning and stewardship of Australia's largest philanthropic donor-advised fund, working across more than $500 million in structured philanthropic capital and supporting over 700 individuals and families in their giving during their lifetime.
As seen in
The practice
Specialist estate planning and intergenerational wealth transfer.
Rachael helps families plan how their wealth moves during their lifetime and after death, bringing estate planning, succession, lifetime giving and philanthropy together in a coherent strategy.
These decisions are often handled separately, by different advisers. The gaps between them can leave an inheritance exposed, succession unresolved or the will at odds with the rest of the plan.
Legal structures live on paper. But they only work when they reflect a family's thinking about what fairness, responsibility and legacy actually require.
What we help resolve
When the plan needs to account for real life.
Protecting a child's inheritance
A testamentary trust can help protect an inheritance from divorce or creditors. Protection depends on how the trust is drafted and used; it is not absolute.
Inheritance protection →Making super and the will work together
Superannuation does not automatically form part of your estate. Your nominations and your will need to work together, with the tax treatment of each beneficiary in mind.
Superannuation and tax →Passing on a family trust or company
Ownership and control are not always the same thing. Succession arrangements need to account for who takes each role when you can no longer act.
Trust and business succession →Providing for a blended family
You may want to provide for your partner while preserving an inheritance for your children. The plan needs to account for both, and for where their interests may differ.
Estate planning services →Helping children during your lifetime
A gift or loan now affects what is left later. Documenting the arrangement and considering the other children helps keep lifetime support and the estate plan aligned.
Giving while living →Building charitable giving into the plan
Giving during life and gifts in your will belong in the same conversation. The right structure depends on when you want to give and how you want the gift to work.
Philanthropic planning →What we do
Our work takes three forms.
01
A will that does what you need it to do
A plan built around your intentions for your family, your assets and your giving, not simply a document.
02
Protection for every kind of beneficiary
Testamentary trusts designed for young, vulnerable or unprepared beneficiaries, with the taxes on death, including super tax and capital gains, addressed as part of the plan.
03
Tax on death, minimised
Superannuation paid to adult children can be taxed at up to 32 per cent. The right structures and nominations minimise what is lost before it reaches the people you intend.
How it works
Four steps. No surprises.
01
Introductory call.
A free 20-minute call, by phone or video. Tell me what you need. I will explain how I work and whether I am the right fit. Nothing to prepare. It is not legal advice.
02
Strategy meeting.
About an hour with me, at our office, your home or your adviser's office. We work through your circumstances and what your plan needs to do. $880 including GST. The $880 fee is credited towards your plan if you proceed.
03
Fixed quote.
You receive a fixed quote for the work. No hourly billing.
04
Signing.
Once you accept the quote, we prepare your documents and book the signing meeting.
For advisers
We work in partnership with financial advisers and accountants.
Refer your client for specialist estate planning, philanthropic structuring and family governance. We work alongside your existing relationship, bringing family dynamics, tax, super and philanthropic intent into the same plan.
Writing and commentary
The decisions behind the documents.
16 September 2026
Firstlinks
Testamentary trusts survived the trust tax. The drafting battle has just begun. →
The fight over testamentary trusts looked settled. Then the draft legislation arrived. Hidden in a technical detail is a question that could force many families to rethink wills they thought were already future-proof.
3 September 2026
Rofe + Co.
The new trust tax and testamentary trusts: why most families have little to worry about →
The exposure draft for the new 30% minimum tax on discretionary trusts has landed, and genuine testamentary trusts stay outside it. Here is how the exemption works, in plain English, and the two things worth checking.
Selected media coverage
The Australian · 17 October 2026
Labor's death tax on trusts forces millions to redraft wills ↗The Australian · 15 October 2026
Trust us: State to rescue on stamp duty costs ↗The Australian · September 2026
Charities want private equity takeovers of trustees blocked ↗
Newsletter
Practical thinking on intergenerational wealth and family conversations, straight to your inbox.
See previous letters from Rachael →
About Rachael
Rachael Rofe
Rachael is an estate planning lawyer and founder of Rofe + Co. Her work brings legal practice and philanthropy together across estate planning, succession and lifetime giving. Every client works directly with her.
Full biography →In their words
Words from those we have worked with.
"
We had advisers. We had accountants. But nobody had helped us think clearly about what we actually wanted to happen - across the family, including the giving. Rachael at Rofe + Co did that, and then put structures around it that we trust.
David & Caroline, Sydney
"
I was not referred to Rachael - I found her through an article she had written. The first conversation was enough to know this was different from any legal advice I had received before. She understood what we were trying to do before we had fully articulated it ourselves.
Margaret, Melbourne
"
The outcome was a plan that our children actually understand and feel a part of. That matters more than any of the legal structures underneath it, though those are precisely right too.
A family office client, NSW
"
Thank you for being so thorough with our estate plan, and for making sure every situation was covered under the new legislation, which was not the case with our outdated previous will. We also find it comforting that if the legislation changes, you will automatically take care of it. That gives us both extra peace of mind.
Lou and Liz Farrugia
Frequently asked questions
Questions clients ask before getting in touch.
No. Many clients come to us directly. Where you have an adviser or accountant, we work alongside them so the legal strategy aligns with the advice already in place.
If you want more than a standard will, you are in the right place. Most clients have some combination of property, superannuation, a business or a family trust, and want it protected and passed to the next generation with as little tax as possible.
Start with a free introductory call.
20 minutes by phone or video. No obligation, nothing to prepare. We discuss what you need and whether we are the right fit. It is not legal advice.