Most Australians approaching retirement know they probably need a financial planner. Fewer think seriously about an estate planner until something forces the conversation: a health scare, a death in the family, or the moment they realise their super might not go where they think it will when they die.
So what’s the actual difference between an estate planner and a financial planner? And do you need one, or both?
The short version: a financial planner helps you build and manage wealth while you’re alive. An estate planner handles what happens to that wealth when you’re not. They’re not competing roles. For most people with assets, super, or a family situation that’s even slightly complex, you genuinely need both, and ideally they’re talking to each other.
Here’s how they differ, where they overlap, and what to prioritise at each stage.
What a Financial Planner Actually Does
A financial planner (also called a financial adviser) helps you manage money across the key decisions of your working and retirement years. In Australia, they must hold an Australian Financial Services Licence (AFSL) or be an authorised representative of a licensee, and be registered with ASIC.
In practice, they’re working on things like:
Before retirement: building your super, reducing tax through salary sacrifice and contribution strategies, setting up an investment mix that suits your timeline, and making sure you’re not leaving money on the table in the years before you stop working.
At retirement: transitioning your super from accumulation to a pension phase, working out how much you can draw down and for how long, understanding how your super and savings interact with the Age Pension, and structuring your income so you’re not paying more tax than you need to.
During retirement: making sure your money lasts, adjusting your investment mix as you age, and navigating any changes to government rules (and there are always changes to government rules).
What they’re generally not doing: writing your Will, setting up powers of attorney, or advising on the legal structure of how your assets transfer when you die. That’s the estate planner’s job.
What an Estate Planner Actually Does
An estate planner is usually a solicitor who specialises in estate law, though some financial planners have overlapping knowledge in areas like super death benefits and binding nominations.
Their job is to make sure your wishes are legally documented and that your wealth transfers to the right people, in the right way, with as little tax and as few disputes as possible.
Specifically, they handle:
- Your Will, including whether a testamentary trust makes sense for your family (more on that below)
- Enduring powers of attorney (who makes financial decisions if you lose capacity)
- Medical powers of attorney and advance care directives (who makes health decisions)
- Guardianship arrangements if minor children are involved
- The legal structure of how you own assets (joint tenancy vs tenants in common can change everything about what happens to a property when one person dies)
- Superannuation death benefit nominations and whether they’re binding or non-binding
That last one is where the two professionals’ work overlaps most significantly, and where things go wrong most often.
The Super Death Benefit Problem: Why Both Matter Together
Here’s the thing that catches a lot of Australians off guard. Your superannuation doesn’t automatically form part of your estate. It’s held in trust by your super fund, and they decide who gets it unless you have a valid, current binding death benefit nomination in place.
If you have a non-binding nomination (or no nomination at all), the trustee of your super fund will decide who receives your super. They’ll generally follow your wishes if there’s a nomination, but they’re not legally obligated to.
A binding nomination solves this, but it has rules: it generally needs to be renewed every three years (for most funds), the nominees must be dependants or your legal personal representative, and if it’s lapsed or invalid, you’re back to trustee discretion.
This is squarely where a financial planner and estate planner need to be aligned. Your financial planner can flag the issue and help you think through who should receive your super and how. Your estate planner ensures the nomination is documented correctly and fits with the rest of your estate plan.
Scott and Phil covered this in detail in Episode 12 of the Wealthlab podcast, “Super vs Inheritance: How Death and Gifting Impact Your Pension.” The episode walks through how super death benefits are taxed differently depending on who receives them (a spouse pays zero tax; an adult non-dependant child can pay up to 17%), and why blended families in particular need specialist advice before assuming everything will just work itself out.
As Phil put it: “There’s no right or wrong with estate planning. This is your money. It’s up to you.” But you do need to have thought it through.
When to See a Financial Planner First
If you’re in your 50s or early 60s and still working, a financial planner is where you start. The biggest financial decisions of your retirement are happening right now: how much you’re contributing to super, whether you’re salary sacrificing efficiently, how to structure your drawdown, and whether you’re on track for the retirement income you actually want.
Getting this right in the final 5 to 10 years before you stop working has a much larger impact on your retirement than most people realise. We’ve written about this in our guide on how to increase your super before retirement.
A good financial planner will also flag where your estate plan needs attention. Not to do that work themselves, but to make sure you’re getting it done.
When to See an Estate Planner
Ideally, before anything forces you to. The common triggers are a serious illness, the death of a spouse or parent, or a significant change in assets (selling a business, receiving an inheritance, buying an investment property).
But the better approach is to sort it out while everything is calm and there’s no urgency. An estate plan done in a rush, or done without thinking through the super nominations, family trust structures, and potential tax implications, is often worse than no plan at all because it creates false confidence.
You should see an estate planner if any of the following apply:
- You haven’t updated your Will in more than five years
- Your family situation has changed (marriage, divorce, step-children, new grandchildren)
- You own property with someone else and haven’t thought about how it’s held
- Your super death benefit nomination has lapsed or you’re not sure if it’s binding
- You have a blended family situation
- You want to leave assets to people outside your immediate family, including charities
Testamentary Trusts: Worth Knowing About
One thing that comes up often in estate planning conversations that financial planners can’t set up but should be aware of: the testamentary trust.
Rather than leaving assets directly to beneficiaries in your Will, a testamentary trust distributes assets through a trust established by the Will when you die. The main advantages are tax flexibility (income can be split across beneficiaries at lower rates, including to minor children at adult tax rates) and asset protection (the assets are harder to reach in a divorce or bankruptcy of a beneficiary).
For larger estates, or where you have concerns about how beneficiaries will manage a lump sum, it’s worth asking an estate planner whether a testamentary trust belongs in your Will.
How They Work Together (and What Happens When They Don’t)
The risk of treating your financial plan and estate plan as two separate conversations that never meet is that things fall through the gap.
A common example: a financial planner structures a couple’s super so the majority is in one partner’s name for tax reasons. An estate planner writes a Will that leaves everything equally to three adult children. But because super sits outside the estate, the trustee pays it based on the nomination, which is three years old and still names an ex-partner. Nothing illegal happened. Everyone did their job. But the outcome isn’t what the family expected.
When a financial planner and estate planner communicate, they can catch these gaps. If your financial planner isn’t at least raising estate planning questions with you and pointing you toward a specialist, that’s worth noting.
Use the Wealthlab Super Calculator to Check Where You Stand
Before any of these conversations with professionals, it helps to know what you’re working with. Our free Wealthlab super calculator gives you a quick sense of your retirement income position. From there, you can have a more grounded conversation with a financial planner about what strategies to prioritise, and with an estate planner about what needs protecting.
FAQs
What is the difference between an estate planner and a financial planner?
A financial planner helps you build, manage, and draw down wealth during your lifetime, covering areas like superannuation, investment, retirement income, and tax. An estate planner (typically a solicitor) handles the legal side of what happens to your assets when you die or lose capacity, including your Will, powers of attorney, and superannuation death benefit nominations. They cover different ground, and for most Australians with super, property, or a family situation, both are worth having.
Do I need an estate planner if I already have a financial planner?
Generally yes, if you want your estate to be properly protected. A financial planner can advise on the financial aspects of estate planning, like making sure your super death benefit nominations are current and appropriate. But they can’t write your Will or set up powers of attorney. Those require an estate planner or solicitor. The two professionals complement each other rather than replacing one another.
Can a financial planner do estate planning in Australia?
A financial planner can advise on financial aspects that intersect with estate planning, most notably superannuation death benefits and binding nominations. But legal documents, including Wills, testamentary trusts, and powers of attorney, must be prepared by a solicitor or estate planning specialist. Some firms have both in-house; most don’t, so the two professionals need to communicate.
What happens to my super when I die if I don’t have a binding nomination?
If you don’t have a valid binding death benefit nomination, the trustee of your super fund decides who receives your super. They’ll typically consider your dependants and your legal personal representative, but they’re not bound by a non-binding or lapsed nomination. This means your super may not go where you intended. A binding nomination, kept current, gives you much more control. Check whether yours is binding and when it expires.
Is estate planning only for wealthy Australians?
No. If you have super, own property, or have people who depend on you financially, estate planning matters. The stakes are actually higher for ordinary families who can’t absorb a dispute or an unexpected tax bill. Blended families, people with adult children from previous relationships, and anyone with a significant super balance should have an estate plan regardless of whether they consider themselves wealthy.
When should I start estate planning?
Before you need to. The best time is when things are settled and there’s no urgency, typically in your mid-50s at the latest. Major life events that should trigger a review include marriage, divorce, the birth of a grandchild, a significant change in assets, or the death of a spouse or partner. Your Will and nominations should also be reviewed every three to five years even if nothing has changed, because super nominations lapse and laws change.
Talk to a Financial Planner About Where You Stand
If you’re approaching retirement and haven’t had either conversation yet, starting with a financial planner is the right first step. They can help you understand your super position, flag any estate planning gaps, and point you toward the right specialists for the legal side.
You can also read our related guides:
If you’d like to talk through your own situation, book a free chat with the Wealthlab team. No jargon, no pressure.