A special impromptu episode of Wine & Wisdom, recorded on a hotel couch after a recent law conference.

Wills and Estates lawyer Danielle Little is joined by Chris Herrald (Director, Extension Legal) and Chelsea Baker (Director, Baker Hastings Lawyers) - both also founders of The Succession Studio - to unpack the early implications of the 2026 Federal Budget for discretionary trusts and testamentary trusts.

Clients are already calling with questions:

* Should estate plans currently in progress continue?

* Will testamentary discretionary trusts be caught up in the changes?

* What do we actually know at this stage?

In a candid, practitioner-to-practitioner conversation, the three discuss:

• Why it's genuinely early days - no draft legislation has been released
• The likely industry advocacy around testamentary trusts and family protection
• Why testamentary discretionary trusts remain a powerful estate planning tool regardless of tax treatment - particularly for protecting minors, business-owning beneficiaries, vulnerable family members, and beneficiaries facing relationship or spendthrift risks
• What estate planning clients should do in the meantime

An honest, considered conversation between three succession law practitioners trying to make sense of a moving picture - in real time, over a glass.