- Indemnity costs go with executor’s commission on admin of rural estate
Executors require the consent of beneficiaries or authorisation in the will itself, for payment of remuneration from a deceased estate for administration services they perform. It is also open to an executor…
03-03-2023
- Marriage invalidates prior will despite religious only ceremony
Whether or not a religious ceremony meets legal requirements for marriage has implications in the law of succession as to who is entitled to receive the a participant's assets in the event…
08-12-2022
- Infant’s 20 year trust: executor stays mum on estate proceeds
Absent an effective device in a will to delay distribution, a beneficiary can usually call for their share of estate proceeds upon them attaining majority – ie from their 18th birthday -…
12-11-2022
- De facto spouse status dispute: court injuncts estate admin till issue is tried
Surviving spouses – including de facto spouses - receive a bulk of their partner’s estate if they die without a will. But what features are required to be established to prove a…
07-10-2022
- DIY wills do battle: testator signs would-be witness’s name
Wills - including DIY wills - are required to be signed, dated and formally witnessed. But what happens when they aren’t? Peter Boyle - a Central Queensland business owner - was 81…
07-10-2022
- She did precisely what will maker had wanted: trustee is removed by court
In what circumstances can a trustee of an estate be removed from their position for exercising their powers in the way the deceased would have expected? Following their divorce, Cairns couple James…
06-10-2022
- Brothers do battle: mother’s will excluding one, prepared by other’s lawyer
The party who seeks to propound a will must establish that the will maker had the requisite legal capacity at the time the will was made and knew and approved the contents…
18-07-2022
- Court orders graceful end to 12 year dispute between executors
A prolonged estate administration has been ended by order of a court on the application of one executor over the objections of another. Marilyn Plath of Childers died in September 2010 survived…
09-06-2022
- Lost original fuels forgery suspicion in practitioner siblings’ trust deed battle
A Queen St solicitor who belatedly produced an electronic copy of an unwitnessed declaration of trust to support his claim he was the beneficial owner of his deceased mother’s home, has been…
07-11-2021
- Solicitor’s records deficient: lost will held not to have been revoked
A court has ruled that the mere fact an original will could not be found did not compel the conclusion the will-maker had revoked it by destruction. Prem Masih and wife Patricia…
13-10-2021
- Family provision settlement creates discord and further court proceedings
Executors can enter into many types of arrangements to satisfy a disgruntled family member who files a family provision application. Not all are straightforward and some simply prolong the dispute. Consider the…
09-09-2021
- No go for unsigned will with no proof of intention it would operate regardless
An unsigned testamentary document can be validated by a court even where there has been no attempt to have it signed if there is evidence that the deceased intended it to have…
01-08-2021