About Rachael
Helping families transfer wealth
with clarity and purpose.
Founder & Principal of Rofe + Co
Estate planning lawyer. Strategic adviser across wealth transfer, philanthropy and legacy.
I am an intergenerational wealth transfer lawyer with more than two decades' experience in estate planning and stewardship of Australia's largest philanthropic donor-advised fund.
That combination is rare. It provides a vantage point across the full arc of wealth transfer - how capital moves to family, how it serves community, and what endures once it moves beyond its original creator.
"The best legal structures I draft are built on conversations that almost nobody else is having. What does responsible inheritance look like? How should wealth shape the next generation - not just reach them?"
Background
A career built across
both sides of wealth transfer.
I have been an estate planning lawyer for my entire career. A decade into that practice, I was asked to lead Australia's largest donor-advised fund platform - working across more than $500 million in structured philanthropic capital and supporting over 700 individuals and families in their giving during their lifetime.
Working across both domains gave me a rare vantage point. I have seen how capital shapes behaviour, opportunity and responsibility once it moves beyond its original creator. In practice, clients were rarely concerned with legal documents alone. They were concerned with what wealth would mean for the next generation - how judgement, responsibility and purpose would endure.
As Australia approaches the largest intergenerational wealth transition in its history, I returned to private practice to integrate these disciplines. Today, I advise individuals, families and business owners across the full wealth transfer spectrum - drafting structures that align estate planning, succession, lifetime giving and philanthropic strategy within cohesive legal frameworks that are tax-effective, asset-protective and foster family unity.
I follow superannuation reform, tax policy and regulatory developments closely, and contribute media commentary on giving and intergenerational wealth transfer as these frameworks evolve. Every client works directly with me, not a team of juniors. Rofe + Co is built around that, supported by a trusted network of financial advisers, accountants and structured giving specialists where integrated advice is needed.
Credentials
Qualifications & experience
Bachelor of Laws (LLB) & Bachelor of Arts (BA)
Australian National University, 2007
Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice (GDLP)
ANU College of Law, 2008
Admitted to the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory
Unrestricted Practising Certificate, Law Society of New South Wales
What two decades of practice -
across law and philanthropy - taught me about both.
Capital shapes people
Wealth changes behaviour, opportunity and responsibility the moment it moves beyond its creator. Understanding that dynamic - not just the legal mechanics - is what separates considered wealth transfer from mere document drafting.
Lifetime and death are one strategy
The decisions you make during your lifetime - gifts to family, philanthropic structures, trust distributions - shape what is possible on death. They need to be designed together, not in separate conversations with separate advisers.
The next generation is always in the room
Even when they are not present, the next generation is affected by every decision made at this table. Engaging them deliberately - in the right way, at the right time - leads to unity, not dispute.
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