top of page
Inherit Australia Lawyer FAQ
For lawyers invited by advisers to work with clients through the estate planning platform
This FAQ is designed for lawyers who may be unfamiliar with Inherit Australia. It explains the platform from a lawyer’s point of view: how adviser-led estate planning referrals work, how lawyers can also use the platform for their own clients, what information is collected, where the lawyer becomes involved, and how professional boundaries are maintained.
What is Inherit Australia?
Inherit Australia is a digital estate planning workflow that helps advisers, accountants and lawyers work together more effectively. It helps advisers identify estate planning gaps, collect structured client information and invite a lawyer into the process when legal advice or documents are required. Lawyers can also use the platform directly with their own clients as a more efficient intake, workflow and matter-management process for estate planning.
Is Inherit Australia replacing the lawyer?
No. The platform is designed to support the estate planning workflow, not replace legal advice. The lawyer remains responsible for legal analysis, advice, document drafting, execution requirements, client engagement and professional judgment.
Why would an adviser invite a lawyer onto the platform?
Advisers are often the first professionals to identify that a client’s estate planning is outdated, incomplete or inconsistent with their financial arrangements. The adviser may invite a preferred lawyer so the client can move from issue identification into proper legal advice without the matter losing momentum.
What does the estate planning health check do?
The health check on the Inherit platform helps the adviser and client identify whether key estate planning arrangements are in place and whether further review is required. It may highlight issues such as outdated Wills, missing powers of attorney, expired or absent superannuation nominations, trust succession issues, company control issues or blended family risks. It is a discovery and triage tool, not legal advice.
What information is collected before the lawyer is involved?
The platform is intended to collect structured information about the client’s family, assets, liabilities, superannuation, entities, decision-makers, intended beneficiaries and estate planning objectives. This gives the lawyer a better starting point than an informal or incomplete referral.
What are the main benefits for lawyers?
The main benefits are better-prepared referrals, clearer scope, less administrative chasing, earlier identification of complexity, improved adviser collaboration, stronger client engagement, and a more repeatable estate planning workflow. For lawyers’ own clients, the same structured workflow can reduce non-billable intake time, improve delegation to support staff and help turn estate planning into a more profitable practice area.
Does the lawyer still issue their own engagement documents and costs disclosure?
Yes. Lawyers should continue to follow their own engagement, costs disclosure, conflict checking, client identification and file-opening procedures. The platform can support workflow and information collection, but it does not remove the lawyer’s professional obligations.
Who is the lawyer’s client?
This must be determined and confirmed by the lawyer in the usual way. In many cases, the client will be the individual or couple seeking estate planning advice. The adviser is a referrer or collaborating professional, not the legal client unless a separate engagement is clearly established.
Can the adviser see the client’s information?
The adviser’s access will depend on the workflow and permissions used in the matter. From a professional perspective, lawyers should be clear with the client about what information may be shared with the adviser and should manage confidentiality consistently with their usual obligations.
Does the adviser provide legal advice through the platform?
No. The adviser may identify estate planning gaps, help the client complete discovery information and provide financial or structural context. Legal advice, legal strategy and document drafting remain the lawyer’s responsibility. However, Inherit encourages lawyers to provide any written legal advice into the platform so that it is accessible to the client and the adviser, working collaboratively.
How does the platform help with scope?
Because the platform collects information about family, assets, superannuation and entities earlier in the process, the lawyer can identify whether the matter is simple or complex before quoting or commencing substantive drafting. This can help avoid under-scoping and reduce fee surprises.
How does Inherit help strengthen adviser relationships?
The platform gives advisers and lawyers a shared process. Advisers can see that their clients are progressing, lawyers receive better information, and clients experience a more coordinated service. Over time, this can turn one-off referrals into a stronger professional relationship.
Can lawyers use their own precedents?
Yes. Lawyers are free to use their own precedents. Inherit offers a document conversion process as a separate implementation or conversion service which is quoted separately based on each firm's documents, clauses, drafting assumptions, and approval processes. However, for greater efficiency, and based on the Inherit PAYG or subscription offering, Inherit pre-drafts basic and testamentary trust Wills for information gathered through the platform. The precedents are regarded as "best practice” because they have been used and compiled with input from a number of senior and experienced estate planning lawyers over many years. The important point is that the lawyer remains responsible for the final legal documents.
Can lawyers use Inherit for their own clients?
Yes. One of the important benefits is that Inherit is not limited to adviser-referred work. Lawyers can use the platform with their own estate planning clients to collect information earlier, identify complexity sooner, allocate preparatory work to support staff, reduce repeated client follow-up and standardise the pathway from initial enquiry to advice, drafting, signing, storage and review. Used well, this can save lawyer time, improve turnaround, increase matter capacity and support stronger margins from estate planning work.
How should lawyers think about the cost of using Inherit?
The cost should be viewed as a practice efficiency, workflow and revenue-growth investment, not simply as another software subscription. Inherit is designed to reduce hidden leakage in estate planning work: unpaid preliminary conversations, repeated follow-up, incomplete instructions, under-scoping, client delay and administrative work that absorbs lawyer time. If the platform saves lawyer time, improves delegation, increases conversion of estate planning enquiries, or generates new adviser-referred matters, the commercial return can outweigh the cost.
Does Inherit offer a pay-as-you-go option for lawyers?
Yes. Inherit offers a PAYG option for lawyers who want to start using the platform without committing to a monthly plan. This is particularly useful for lawyers who have been invited by an adviser and want to trial the process, firms that only handle a small number of estate planning matters, or lawyers who want to test the workflow with selected adviser-referred clients or their own direct clients before adopting it more broadly. PAYG should be presented as a low-risk entry point, not merely as the cheaper option. It allows the lawyer to start small, prove the process through real matters and then decide whether their matter volume justifies a subscription plan.
How can lawyers justify the PAYG cost?
The PAYG fee should be assessed against the value of the time saved, the quality of the matter produced and the opportunity to convert more estate planning work. If Inherit reduces time spent collecting information, chasing missing details, explaining the process or preparing the matter for drafting, the PAYG fee may be recovered through efficiency alone. The platform may also help the lawyer identify complexity earlier, scope the matter more accurately and price the work more appropriately. In that sense, PAYG is not simply a matter fee. It is a practical way to test whether a structured estate planning workflow can reduce leakage, improve client conversion, support delegation and make estate planning more profitable.
Is Inherit just another legal software fee?
No. The platform sits earlier in the value chain than a precedent system or document-production tool. It helps identify the client need, collect structured information, involve the adviser where appropriate, prepare the matter for lawyer review, support scoping and keep the client moving through the process. The better question for a firm is not only “What does the platform cost?” but “How much time, leakage and missed opportunity does our current estate planning process cost us?”
How can Inherit help make estate planning more profitable?
Estate planning becomes more profitable when the workflow is repeatable and lawyer time is focused on legal advice, judgment and drafting rather than avoidable administration. Inherit can help firms receive better instructions, identify complexity earlier, quote with more confidence, delegate intake and preparation to support staff, reduce write-offs and increase the number of matters that can be completed without increasing lawyer hours. Lawyers can also use the platform with their own direct clients, meaning the benefit is not limited to adviser referrals.
What risk issues should lawyers still watch for?
Lawyers should continue to consider capacity, undue influence, family conflict, blended families, second relationships, vulnerable beneficiaries, superannuation death benefits, trust and company control, SMSF succession, tax-sensitive structures and asset protection issues. The platform can help identify these matters, but it does not replace legal judgment.
Should advisers attend legal advice meetings?
That is a matter for the lawyer to decide based on the client’s circumstances, confidentiality, conflicts and risk issues. In some cases adviser involvement is helpful. In other cases, particularly where capacity, undue influence or family pressure may be relevant, the lawyer may need to meet the client separately.
How does the platform help with matter progress?
A structured workflow helps reduce stalled estate planning matters as well as to prioritise time-critical files. The adviser can encourage the client to complete information, the lawyer can see what has been provided, and the process can move through review, advice, drafting, signing, storage and future review.
Is the platform suitable only for simple Wills?
No. The platform can help identify both simple and complex matters. In fact, one of its practical benefits is that complex issues may be identified earlier, allowing the lawyer to scope the matter properly and explain why more detailed advice is required.
What is the commercial opportunity for lawyers?
Inherit Australia can create a more consistent estate planning referral pathway from advisers and accountants while also giving lawyers a platform for their own client work. Lawyers can receive better-prepared matters, reduce unpaid preliminary time, delegate intake more effectively, improve turnaround, increase estate planning matter capacity and develop deeper referral relationships with professionals who already have trusted client connections. The commercial opportunity is not only more referrals; it is a more efficient and profitable way to deliver estate planning.
What should a lawyer do after receiving an invitation?
The lawyer should review the invitation, understand the adviser relationship, confirm how client information is shared, apply their usual engagement procedures, and decide how to manage the matter in accordance with their professional standards.
What is the key message for lawyers?
Inherit Australia is a collaboration and workflow platform. It helps advisers identify need, helps clients provide better information, and helps lawyers deliver legal advice more efficiently. It can also be used by lawyers for their own clients to reduce administrative friction, improve delegation and increase the profitability of estate planning work. The lawyer remains central to the process. Inherit AustraliaSolving estate planning
bottom of page
