Experts will present a free seminar on May 10 on the legal, estate and financial requirements to make a successful move into a retirement village.

HOSTED by KJB Law, in partnership with Phillips Wealth Partners, the free seminar on May 10 is the second annual seminar aimed at giving people and their families the information they need to navigate a move into retirement-village living.

“When someone enters a retirement village, it is usually the residents themselves who are entering into the arrangements, however it’s still important for their children to also get their heads around it,” says KJB Law principal and senior solicitor Jo Twible.

“There are fundamental differences between homeownership outside a retirement village and your rights with respect to accommodation inside a village. Simply put, the contractual arrangements for retirement villages are more complex,” she says.

In addition to her work as a commercial lawyer, Jo is a specialist in the growing area of retirement village entry and exit, helping advise older clients and their families who are looking at the big life change of moving into a retirement village or aged care, which can involve complex contracts.

With several different financial and legal models that retirement villages use, Jo says it’s helpful for people to learn about each of them, so they’re prepared to compare “apples with apples” when they start looking at retirement village options.

Jo says her retired clients were used to making their own decisions in their previous careers, so they want to understand the full picture .

“There are a range of models in the ACT, they can include home care packages and some have carers attached to the village so it is useful to know the full range of options that are available,” says Jo.

“We give our clients as much love and legal advice as we can as they embark on this journey. We want to make the move to a retirement village as low-stress and as least daunting as possible,” she says.

As a member of the advisory group that reviewed the ACT Retirement Village legislation, Jo is well-versed in the legalities of the industry and, on May 10, she and a panel of experts will host the seminar at the Hellenic Club in Phillip.

Jo will be joined by Kerstin Glomb, special counsel of estate planning at KJB law, as well as representatives from Phillips Wealth Partners – senior financial planner Craig Phillips and aged-care adviser Luisa Capezio.

“We view this seminar as a community service,” says Jo.

“We encourage people not to go blindly into these agreements. Surprises are great at birthdays, but not for legal documents!” she says.

For more information and to register attendance, visit kjblaw.com.au or call Liz Arnold on 6281 0999.