Tony Kelly

‘Put not trust in your money, but your money in a trust.’

Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr

Tony was admitted to practice and established his own firm in 1973 and draws on his over fifty years of legal experience when advising clients; especially those who are in a “blended” relationship.

Estate plans crafted by him usually include the drafting of complex wills which contain discretionary testamentary trust structures, and, if necessary, associated documentation such as agreements for mutual wills, bespoke powers of attorney for individuals and companies, memorandums of wishes and superannuation nominations. This suite of documentation ensures that all of the client’s assets owned, or controlled, by them during their lifetime are appropriately dealt with. This is especially relevant if these assets are to remain in legal structures which have been established in the lifetime of the will maker subsequent to their death with the resultant change in circumstances.

Tony also provides succession advice for the equity participants of business enterprises regarding issues such as inter-generational change, which can require the creation, or updating, of trust deeds, shareholder agreements and appropriately drafted insurance funded “buy/sell” arrangements.

The establishment of a “private office” structure is a relevant consideration for families who have a sufficient capital base which they wish to be retained for subsequent generations, rather than the more traditional asset “carve up”, on the demise of the older generation. Tony’s firm provides the complex succession, estate and taxation advice required for the establishment of such a structure.  As the Australian representative of the internationally based “Global Partnership” group, the firm has access to the latest overseas trends in this “space”.

A special area of interest to Tony is advising primary producers where often the major family asset is a farming undertaking which has been notionally allocated to the next generation of the family who are actively involved in the primary production enterprise and a succession plan needs to be crafted to cater for those who do not share in such day to day involvement.

Tony has been recognised in the publication ‘Best Lawyers’ as a leading Wealth Management/Succession Planning practitioner.

Claire Stollery
Partner

Claire Stollery holds a Bachelor of Laws with Honours and a Bachelor of Arts from Monash University and a Graduate Diploma of Legal Practice from Leo Cussen Centre for Law. Claire was admitted to practice in September 2020 and commenced working with Tony soon after. During her time at Tony Kelly Lawyer & Estate Planner, Claire has ‘learned the ropes’ of formulating strong Estate and Succession Plans for clients and relishes the challenges that this dynamic area of law brings. Her areas of expertise include discretionary testamentary trust structures, probate applications and powers of attorney. Outside of the law, Claire enjoys dancing, cooking, hiking and walking her greyhound Rocky.