Marie Brownell

Marie Brownell

Marie is Equity Trustees’ National Manager of Estate Planning. Prior to joining the team, Marie worked in private practice and for Australia’s largest trustee companies, working exclusively in the area of wills, estates and trusts.

With two decades of experience in administering and advising clients on estates and trusts matters including a decade of drafting estate plans to meet all types of circumstances, there are few situations Marie hasn’t come across – the curious and interesting, the challenging and worrying and the most complex. She can find a way through it all. Marie works directly with risk advisers, financial planners, accountants and individuals in providing expert, tailored advice on all aspects of estate planning.

Marie was admitted as a solicitor in 2004 and in 2009 became a New South Wales Law Society Accredited Specialist in Wills and Estates Law. Since that time, Marie has lectured at University of Western Sydney in the subject Planning for Retirement as part of the postgraduate Masters degree in Financial Planning.

Marie also lectures at the College of Law in the subjects Complex Issues in Estate Administration, Foundations of Estate Planning, and Estate Planning Capstone as part of the Masters of Applied Law (Wills and Estates).

If you die without a will, a court will appoint someone to administer your estate. Source: Getty
Family disputes over wills are all too common. Source: Getty
Unlike other types of trust, which must come to an end within 80 years, charitable trusts can exist forever. Source: Getty
If you are new to Australia and have no close connections to someone who can act as the executor of your estate, you can choose to appoint a professional practitioner, such as a lawyer or a licensed trustee company. Source: Getty
In Australia, family members are asked to provide consent to organ donation before it can proceed. Source: Getty
Don't want your estate to crash and burn after you're gone? Choose the right POA to take care of it. Source: Getty.