1300 673 792

Wills & estates · Sunshine Coast

Wills & Estate Lawyer in Bellmere

First wills for Bellmere families — guardians, what children inherit and when, and planning around the mortgage. From the Caboolture office.

Book a confidential consultation Call 1300 673 792
A couple reviewing documents with a solicitor
Birtinya officeRegatta 1 Business Centre, by appointment

Bellmere sits north-west of the Caboolture town centre — 6,588 residents across 23.7 square kilometres at the 2021 Census, in largely newer detached housing at 88.1% separate houses with almost no apartments. Its defining feature is age. The median age was 34, and 24.1% of residents were children aged 0 to 14. Couple families with children were the largest family type here at 39.1% of families. Around 34.4% of dwellings were owned with a mortgage against 24.9% owned outright, and median household income was $1,448 a week. The workforce leans manual: labourers at 15.4% and technicians and trades at 14.6% of the employed workforce, with construction the second-largest industry at 11.8%.

First consultationFree and confidential
FeesFull fee quoted before drafting starts
WhereBirtinya office, by appointment
A fountain pen resting on a handwritten page

Dr Darren Catton SJD (QUT), TEP is the firm's principal; the firm states he has more than 30 years' experience in Queensland estate law and is a member of the Queensland Law Society Property Law committee. TEP is the designation used by full members of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners, a recognised mark for practitioners working in wills, trusts and estates. Catton Roderick Lawyers describe themselves as a locally owned and operated family practice. Appointments are at Unit 3, 9 East Street, Caboolture QLD 4510 — a short run down Bellmere Road, not an address in Bellmere — Monday to Friday, 9:00am to 5:00pm. The firm states straightforward situations are offered on a fixed fee, that more complex estates involving blended families, business interests or significant assets may need a tailored quote, and that the full cost is discussed up front.

A pen signing a document beside a small model house
Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners
Two people working through papers at a desk

There is no Catton Roderick office in Bellmere. The office you would attend is at Unit 3, 9 East Street, Caboolture QLD 4510, open Monday to Friday, 9:00am to 5:00pm — a short drive along Bellmere Road. Call 1300 673 792 to arrange a time.

Will drafting

Bespoke wills carefully drafted to reflect your wishes, your relationships and the assets you hold.

For a Bellmere family this is the core document and usually the first one: beneficiaries, a guardian and a substitute guardian, an executor and a substitute executor, and what happens if both parents are affected at once. With 24.1% of residents aged under 15 at the 2021 Census and couple families with children the largest family type at 39.1%, the guardianship clause is doing more work here than anywhere else in the district. Drafted from your circumstances, reviewed with you clause by clause, then signed under supervision.

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Estate planning

Asset structuring, distribution strategy, and provisions for dependants.

Around 34.4% of Bellmere dwellings were mortgaged at the 2021 Census, so for most households the house is the only significant asset and it carries the debt. The planning question is whether the family could realistically keep it, and what would need to be in place for that to be true. Some assets may not be governed by the will at all — superannuation death benefits and jointly held property may pass outside its terms, which is general information rather than personal financial or superannuation advice.

Talk about estate planning

Executor guidance

Help selecting the right executors, plus clear written guidance on how to properly care for your estate.

Naming your partner is the easy half. The substitute is the decision that matters, because it is the one that operates in the scenario the will exists for — and in the most car-dependent locality of the six, with 67.0% of workers driving themselves to work, that scenario is not remote. We help you choose, and provide written guidance to whoever ends up acting.

Ask about executors

Family provision guidance

Guidance on how Queensland law deals with family provision claims.

Planning side only. Section 41 of the Succession Act 1981 (Qld) allows a spouse, child or dependant to apply to the court for provision where adequate provision was not made for their proper maintenance and support, generally within nine months of the death, though the court may allow a late application. It is most relevant to Bellmere households where there are children from an earlier relationship. A dispute is separate work, handled by the firm's estate claims practice.

Estate claims & disputes

Bellmere is a young-family locality, and most people who call us here are making a first will rather than updating one. The blockers are almost always the same three.

The first is the guardian. Deciding who raises your children means a conversation with your own family that nobody enjoys, so it gets deferred — often for years. The will is the document in which a guardian is appointed. Where none is named, that question is left for others to resolve at the worst possible time. With 24.1% of Bellmere residents aged under 15 at the 2021 Census, it is the clause that does the most work on this page.

The second is what "leave it to each other" actually covers. For a couple it feels obvious until you think about the scenario the will exists for — the one where both parents are affected at once. That is what substitute appointments are for: a substitute guardian, and a substitute executor. Bellmere is the most car-dependent locality of the six around Caboolture, with 67.0% of workers driving themselves to work and only 7.4% working from home, so families here spend real time on the road together. The substitute clauses are not filler.

The third is age. An inheritance paid out in full on an eighteenth birthday is rarely what anyone intends, and for a young family it is a live possibility rather than a remote one, because life insurance and superannuation can make a modest estate suddenly substantial. A will can be drafted so a child's share is held and released at an age you nominate, or in stages, with a trustee you appoint managing it in the meantime.

Behind all three sits the mortgage. Around 34.4% of Bellmere dwellings were mortgaged at the 2021 Census, and for most young families the house is the only significant asset while also carrying the debt. The practical question is not who the house is left to — it is whether the person inheriting could realistically keep it, and what would have to happen for that to be true. Life insurance is often part of that answer. Note that superannuation death benefits and jointly held property may pass outside a will and are not automatically governed by its terms; that is general information only, not personal financial or superannuation advice, and not a statement about any particular fund, nomination or account.

None of this describes any particular household — Census figures describe a suburb, never a reader. Catton Roderick Lawyers draft wills, provide estate planning around them, help with selecting executors and give written guidance, and offer guidance on how Queensland law deals with family provision claims.

Areas We Serve

Around 24.1% of Bellmere residents were children under 15 at the 2021 Census, and 34.4% of dwellings were being paid off with a mortgage. That combination produces a very specific job for a will: name the person who raises your children, decide at what age they receive anything, and think about whether the family could keep the house. Most people who call us from Bellmere are making a first will rather than updating one. Catton Roderick Lawyers draft those wills from the Caboolture office on East Street, a short run down Bellmere Road.

FAQs

Who raises our children if something happens to both of us?

Whoever you appoint as guardian in your will. Where nobody is named, that question is left for others to resolve at the worst possible time. We recommend naming a primary guardian and a substitute in case the first choice cannot act, and we encourage clients to ask those people beforehand rather than name them in absentia. For most Bellmere parents it is the reason a will finally gets made.

Can I stop my kids inheriting everything at 18?

Yes — a will can be drafted so a child's share is held and released at an age you nominate, or in stages, with a trustee you appoint managing it in the meantime. For a young family this often matters more than the size of the estate, because life insurance and superannuation can make a modest estate substantially larger than the parents pictured. We talk through which ages make sense for your circumstances rather than applying a standard one.

We still owe money on the house. Does that change our wills?

It changes the planning around them. With 34.4% of Bellmere dwellings mortgaged at the 2021 Census, the practical question is whether the person inheriting could service or discharge the loan, and what would need to be in place for that to be realistic — life insurance is often part of the answer. We check that the will and the household's other arrangements are pointing the same way. That is general information, not personal financial advice.

Do we each need our own will?

Yes — a will is an individual document, so each of you makes your own. Couples usually make matching wills that leave everything to each other first and then to the children, with guardian and executor appointments that line up across both. We prepare them together in the same appointment, which is generally faster than doing them separately.

What if we never get around to it?

Then the Succession Act 1981 (Qld) decides. The estate is distributed under a fixed statutory order, ascertained from a schedule to the Act by reference to the facts existing in relation to the person who died, beginning with spouse and children — which may or may not match what you would have chosen. More to the point, it says nothing at all about guardianship. Given how many Bellmere households are young families with dependent children, that is the real cost of putting it off.

How long does it take, and what do we need to bring?

Most straightforward Bellmere wills are drafted after one appointment, reviewed with you, then signed at a second short visit. Bring a rough list of assets and debts including the mortgage, your superannuation fund and any nominations you have made, life insurance details, and the full names of your proposed guardians and executors. Having discussed the guardian question beforehand saves the most time.

Start with the children and work outward: guardian, substitute guardian, at what age they receive anything, who manages it until then — and only then how the house and the insurance fit around those decisions. Most straightforward Bellmere wills are drafted after one appointment, reviewed with you, then signed at a second short visit. Catton Roderick Lawyers draft first wills for Bellmere families from the Caboolture office, Monday to Friday. Call 1300 673 792 or use the form below, and raise cost at the first conversation — the firm states it discusses the full cost up front and offers fixed-fee work for straightforward situations.

Book a confidential consultation

Book a confidential consultation Call 1300 673 792

For more information about our professional legal services or a free quote, call our friendly team today on 1300 673 792.

Business information

Address: Unit 3, 9 East Street, Caboolture, QLD 4510

Phone: 1300 673 792

Business Hours

Caboolture – Mon to Fri - 9am to 5pm - Closed Sat, Sun,

Redcliffe – Tues to Fri – 9am to 5pm - Closed Sat, Sun, Mon

Sunshine Coast - By Appointment Only

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