Ann Janssen

Ann Janssen founded the firm in 2009 based on her vision to deliver first-class estate planning and administration services to clients at an accessible cost. Her reasoning was that if a law firm only focussed on this area of law, it would quickly become expert and efficient at it. This has proven to be true, and now Estate First Lawyers has become one of the largest estate planning teams of its type operating Australia wide. The firm consistently receives very high feedback ratings from clients and Advisors.

Ann is one of only thirty-eight Queensland Law Society Accredited Specialists in Succession law and is a registered Trust and Estate Practitioner with the international organisation STEP (Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners).

Ann has a Bachelor of Laws with Honours and a Bachelor of Arts (Economics) from the University of Queensland. She also graduated with a Master of Business Administration in 2004, taking out the Graduate School of Management prize for best MBA of the year.

Ann has over 20 years of experience in estate planning law. She is noted for delivering innovative solutions to blended families and strategies to prevent inheritances going ‘L’ shaped® (that is, to stop inheritances from ending up in the hands of unintended recipients). Ann also deals with the estate planning matters in the firm which involve complex advice regarding how various structures pass on the death of key participants, including self-managed super funds, companies and family trusts. She is a keen advocate of testamentary trusts as a tax-effective tool in inheritance planning.

Ann is on the National board of directors for Women in Super and the Australian board of the charity Mission without Borders. She is also a member of the Australian Tax Institute, The Society of Trusts and Estate Practitioners, QLD Law Society, Women in Super and Mensa Australia.

Ann currently participates on a number of key Committees and has supported a number of organisations in these roles over the years, including the Queensland Law Society, Tax Institute and The Society of Trusts and Estate Practitioners.

Ann is a noted speaker on her pet subjects of estate planning and business. Advisors and Super funds have invited her to speak at a number of large client functions and audiences rate her highly for her engaging style and content. In addition to client presentations, Ann is experienced at providing training and education to Advisors and has put together training programs from foundational to masterclass level for financial advisors, accountants and others involved with estate planning. Ann has also spoken at Universities and Legal Conferences (for Qld Law Society and STEP).

Whether public speaking or meeting with a client, Ann can communicate complex estate planning information in a powerful but simplified way, sharing from her many stories and insights coming from years of experience.