

Should I Use an Estate Planner or Financial Adviser for Retirement? (2026 Guide)
Should you use an estate planner or a financial adviser for retirement? For most Australians approaching retirement, the honest answer is both. They cover different ground, and treating them as an either/or usually leaves gaps that only surface later, often after a death, a divorce, or a health event when it is too late to fix cleanly.
The short version: a financial adviser (also called a financial planner) helps you build, manage, and draw down wealth while you are alive. An estate planner, usually a solicitor, handles what happens to that wealth when you are not. They are not competing services. For anyone with super, property, or a family situation that is even slightly complex, both matter, and ideally they are aware of each other’s work.
Here is how they differ, where they overlap, and what to prioritise at each stage.









