# Blog ### Welcome to our Personal Finance Blog ![Pic of Senior Advisor Drew Browne](https://www.finallysorted.com.au/images/author-pic/ceo-drew-browne-round.png) Money bewilders most of us. How to spend it, save it, invest it, and how to best protect the person who makes it. These questions we all face daily — a puzzle we all attempt to understand and solve just about every day. Yet despite money's centrality to our lives and businesses, it's something we all grapple with, and mostly in private. - Money is the 'Lord Voldemort' of topics — feared by most and mentioned by a few. It's oddly uncomfortable to discuss socially and rarely even with our partners, parents, and children. Perhaps that's because managing our money and life's risks inevitably involves the fusion of both the emotional and practical aspects of our decision-making processes. **The most difficult of questions are those with both economic and emotional answers**. At Sapience, we're all about **The How**. Our educational **Personal Finance Blog** is for people who want to grow and remain wealthy. And while the journey toward wealth is clearly marked, you still have to be looking in the right direction. ### Explore Our Blog by Speciality Select a speciality below to view our curated specialist insights and practical strategies. [🧠 Evolutionary Finance](https://www.finallysorted.com.au/insights/evolutionary-finance) [🌳 Family, Legacy & Aging](https://www.finallysorted.com.au/insights/family-legacy-aging) [⚖️ Estate Law & Succession Planning](https://www.finallysorted.com.au/insights/estate-law-succession) [🛡️ Specialist Risk & Insurance](https://www.finallysorted.com.au/insights/specialist-risk-insurance) [🤝 Small Business Risk & Partnership](https://www.finallysorted.com.au/insights/small-business-risk-partnership) [🌍 Social Leadership & Conscious Business](https://www.finallysorted.com.au/insights/social-leadership-conscious-business) [🏠 Wealth Builders & Home Finance](https://www.finallysorted.com.au/insights/wealth-builders-home-finance) [📰 Sapience General Archive](https://www.finallysorted.com.au/insights/sapience-general-archive) ![Not made by AI sapience financial](https://www.finallysorted.com.au/images/icons/not-made-by-AI-sapience-financial-black.png) --- [ ![happy young blending family sitting on the couch](https://www.finallysorted.com.au/images/blog/intro-why-the-law-treats-your-step-children-as-strangers-when-you-dont-have-a-Will-document-sapience-financial.jpg) ](https://www.finallysorted.com.au/blog/love-isnt-enough-why-the-law-treats-your-step-children-as-strangers "Love Isn't Enough: Why the Law Treats Your Step-Children as Strangers") ## [ Love Isn't Enough: Why the Law Treats Your Step-Children as Strangers ](https://www.finallysorted.com.au/blog/love-isnt-enough-why-the-law-treats-your-step-children-as-strangers) --- ### Love Makes a Family, But the Law Requires Blood In the fabric of our modern Australian society, the blended family is a common and cherished thread. We build lives, forge bonds, and raise children not merely by biology, but by years of shared breakfasts, school pickups, and mutual affection. For our LGBT community, *chosen family* is often the strongest bond of all. We live by the truth that love makes a family. But there is a cold, hard reality we must face: The law requires blood. - [ blending families ](https://www.finallysorted.com.au/all-tags/blending-families) - [ blended families ](https://www.finallysorted.com.au/all-tags/blended-families) - [ modern estate planning ](https://www.finallysorted.com.au/all-tags/modern-estate-planning) - [ immediate inheritance ](https://www.finallysorted.com.au/all-tags/immediate-inheritance) - [ ⚖️ Estate Law & Succession Planning ](https://www.finallysorted.com.au/insights/estate-law-succession) [ Read more … ](https://www.finallysorted.com.au/blog/love-isnt-enough-why-the-law-treats-your-step-children-as-strangers) [ ![excited young boy looking down into an opened paper bag to see the definition of Atestate](https://www.finallysorted.com.au/images/blog/intro-what-is-atestate-sapience-financial.jpg) ](https://www.finallysorted.com.au/blog/what-is-atestate "What is Atestate?") ## [ What is Atestate? ](https://www.finallysorted.com.au/blog/what-is-atestate) --- ### You aren't Intestate (yet). But you are almost certainly "Atestate." By [Drew Browne](https://www.finallysorted.com.au/index.php?Itemid=2054) We have a gaping hole in the English language, and it is costing Australian families their fortunes. In the legal and financial world, we have a clear word for what happens when you die without a Will. You are "**Intestate**." It comes from Latin (*intestatus*), and it is a messy, expensive, bureaucratic nightmare for the people you leave behind. - [ modern estate planning ](https://www.finallysorted.com.au/all-tags/modern-estate-planning) - [ ⚖️ Estate Law & Succession Planning ](https://www.finallysorted.com.au/insights/estate-law-succession) [ Read more … ](https://www.finallysorted.com.au/blog/what-is-atestate) [ ![three business friends sitting at a table and laughing and enjoying the moment together](https://www.finallysorted.com.au/images/blog/intro-learning-how-to-stay-rich-sapience-financial.jpg) ](https://www.finallysorted.com.au/blog/learning-how-to-stay-rich "Learning How to Stay Rich") ## [ Learning How to Stay Rich ](https://www.finallysorted.com.au/blog/learning-how-to-stay-rich) --- ### The Two Games of Money: Why Your Best Strength is Your Greatest Blind Spot You're an optimist and a builder, you're wired to chase opportunities and grow your wealth - and who doesn't like that. But what if that very superpower is the crippling blind spot that stops you from protecting everything you've built? Getting wealthy is one thing, staying wealthy is another game all together - [ life insurance ](https://www.finallysorted.com.au/life-insurance/life-terminal-illness-insurance) - [ money habits ](https://www.finallysorted.com.au/all-tags/money-habits) - [ modern estate planning ](https://www.finallysorted.com.au/all-tags/modern-estate-planning) - [ Modern Small Business ](https://www.finallysorted.com.au/modern-small-business-blog) - [ 🧠 Evolutionary Finance ](https://www.finallysorted.com.au/insights/evolutionary-finance) [ Read more … ](https://www.finallysorted.com.au/blog/learning-how-to-stay-rich) [ ![a middle aged women looking at the rental statement](https://www.finallysorted.com.au/images/blog/intro-the-unseen-retirement-crisis-why-your-home-is-more-than-just-a-roof-over-your-head-sapience-financial.jpg) ](https://www.finallysorted.com.au/blog/the-unseen-retirement-crisis-why-your-home-is-more-than-just-a-roof-over-your-head "The Unseen Retirement Crisis: Why Your Home is More Than Just a Roof Over Your Head") ## [ The Unseen Retirement Crisis: Why Your Home is More Than Just a Roof Over Your Head ](https://www.finallysorted.com.au/blog/the-unseen-retirement-crisis-why-your-home-is-more-than-just-a-roof-over-your-head) --- ### Your Biggest Retirement Asset Isn't Your Super. Are You Protecting It? Here is a warning from The **Grattan Institute** 2025 report - *Renting in Retirement report: Why Rent Assistance Needs to Rise*. "Most retirees who rent, live in poverty, including more than three and four single women, and this problem is set to get worse… few Australians who rent are saving enough to cover the cost of renting in retirement. As a result, today’s low income renters are likely to become tomorrow struggling renters in retirement…’ - Grattan Institute. - [ total & permanent disability (TPD) ](https://www.finallysorted.com.au/all-tags/total-permanent-disability-tpd) - [ inheritance management ](https://www.finallysorted.com.au/all-tags/inheritance-management) - [ Housing affordability ](https://www.finallysorted.com.au/all-tags/housing-affordability) - [ 🏠 Wealth Builders & Home Finance ](https://www.finallysorted.com.au/insights/wealth-builders-home-finance) [ Read more … ](https://www.finallysorted.com.au/blog/the-unseen-retirement-crisis-why-your-home-is-more-than-just-a-roof-over-your-head) [ ![flow chart about SMSF-regulation-4.09-SIS-act](https://sapience.com.au/images/blog/intro-SMSF-regulation-4.09-SIS-act-sapience-financial.jpg) ](https://www.finallysorted.com.au/blog/the-19800-dollar-fine-smsf-trustees-must-avoid "The $19,800 Fine SMSF Trustees Must Avoid") ## [ The $19,800 Fine SMSF Trustees Must Avoid ](https://www.finallysorted.com.au/blog/the-19800-dollar-fine-smsf-trustees-must-avoid) --- ### Avoid a Fire Sale: Solving Liquidity in Your SMSF Without liquidity insurance, the biggest threat to your family's financial future isn't a market crash, but a forced fire sale of your most valuable assets in your SMSF. - [ SMSF ](https://www.finallysorted.com.au/smsf) - [ SMSF liquidity ](https://www.finallysorted.com.au/smsf-liquidity) - [ SMSF audit ](https://www.finallysorted.com.au/all-tags/smsf-audit) - [ SMSF investment strategy ](https://www.finallysorted.com.au/all-tags/smsf-investment-strategy) - [ 🏠 Wealth Builders & Home Finance ](https://www.finallysorted.com.au/insights/wealth-builders-home-finance) [ Read more … ](https://www.finallysorted.com.au/blog/the-19800-dollar-fine-smsf-trustees-must-avoid) [ ![happy step family and their grumpy cat](https://www.finallysorted.com.au/images/blog/intro-dont-let-the-law-define-your-family-a-guide-to-wills-for-step-parents-and-beyond-sapience-financial.jpg) ](https://www.finallysorted.com.au/blog/dont-let-the-law-define-your-family-a-guide-to-wills-for-step-parents-and-beyond "Don't Let the Law Define Your Family: A Guide to Wills for Step-Parents and Beyond") ## [ Don't Let the Law Define Your Family: A Guide to Wills for Step-Parents and Beyond ](https://www.finallysorted.com.au/blog/dont-let-the-law-define-your-family-a-guide-to-wills-for-step-parents-and-beyond) --- ### A Question of Blood: The Unseen Disinheritance of Australian Step-Children Who counts as family to you? Is it more logical than biological? If you don't yet have a Will document in place, you're going to want to read this. - [ blended families ](https://www.finallysorted.com.au/all-tags/blended-families) - [ inheritance management ](https://www.finallysorted.com.au/all-tags/inheritance-management) - [ ⚖️ Estate Law & Succession Planning ](https://www.finallysorted.com.au/insights/estate-law-succession) [ Read more … ](https://www.finallysorted.com.au/blog/dont-let-the-law-define-your-family-a-guide-to-wills-for-step-parents-and-beyond) 1. [ The Millionaire Myth and How to Create an Immediate Inheritance for the People You Love (No Lottery Win Required)](https://www.finallysorted.com.au/blog/the-millionaire-myth-and-how-to-create-an-immediate-inheritance-for-the-people-you-love-no-lottery-win-required) 2. [ Forget the Will for a Moment. Let's Talk About Who Makes Decisions When You Can't](https://www.finallysorted.com.au/blog/forget-the-will-for-a-moment-lets-talk-about-who-makes-decisions-when-you-cant) 3. [ The Double-Income Tightrope: What's Your Plan B for the Mortgage?](https://www.finallysorted.com.au/blog/the-double-income-tightrope-what-is-your-backup-plan-for-the-mortgage) 4. [ AI and the Future of Professional Advice](https://www.finallysorted.com.au/blog/ai-and-the-future-of-professional-advice) 5. [ Beyond the Diagnosis: Chronic illness and life insurance policies you can no longer afford](https://www.finallysorted.com.au/blog/beyond-the-diagnosis-chronic-illness-and-life-insurance-policies-you-can-no-longer-afford) 6. [ Ending a De Facto Relationship in NSW: The Checklist you Need](https://www.finallysorted.com.au/blog/ending-a-de-facto-relationship-in-nsw-checklist) 7. [ Protecting Inheritances: The Bankruptcy Trust in a Protective Will Explained](https://www.finallysorted.com.au/blog/protecting-inheritances-the-bankruptcy-trust-in-a-protective-will-explained) ### [ Modern Small Business Leadership](https://www.finallysorted.com.au/blog/modern-small-business) Page 5 of 49