- Estate Executor’s Guide – [Part 3] Court proceedings by and against executors and administrators
Estate Executor Guide Four Part Series - Part 3 No will – Application for Letters of Administration If there is no will, the deceased is said to have died intestate and the…
24-04-2019
- Estate Executor’s Guide – [Part 2] Administering The Estate
Estate Executor Guide Four Part Series - Part 2 Having successfully installed yourself into the role and made contact with beneficiaries, the administration can proceed in earnest. The following is a step…
24-04-2019
- Estate Executor’s Guide – [Part 1] Getting Started
Estate Executor's Guide four part series - Part 1: Getting Started Estate administration 101: Administering an estate and dealing with beneficiaries demands attention to detail and a high level of communication. Use this…
24-04-2019
- Residuary beneficiary caught out by estate admin convenience steps
Informal agreements regarding the administration of a deceased’s estate can lead to a residuary beneficiary inadvertently relinquishing their estate entitlements. Consider the case of Ellen McKean who died in April 1992. By…
12-12-2023
- Death benefit nominees disentitled by deceased’s attorney
How can a super fund member empower someone else to alter the terms of the member’s binding nomination to specify different death benefit nominees to receive the member’s fund entitlements? Robert Stannett…
11-12-2023
- Unconventionally signed DIY will declared valid at great expense
Regrettably DIY wills almost invariably lead to the will-maker’s estate being put to unnecessary expense to overcome validity or interpretation issues and other legal problems. Kevin Chambers died on 17 March 2023…
07-11-2023
- Capacity fight over will-maker’s delusion daughter is a witch
Issues concerning a will-maker’s “capacity” usually relate to dementia and the like. Sometimes though, they traverse broader aberrations of the mind such as a will-maker's delusion, fantasy and superstition. Jan Grzeczny was…
06-11-2023
- Court denies provision to disabled child: needs “fully covered” by NDIS
Family provision applications enable an eligible person to seek “adequate provision” for their “proper maintenance and support” from the estate of a deceased person when something less or nothing at all has…
03-11-2023
- DIY unsigned will: witness accounts differ but doc declared valid
DIY wills often survive contests over their legal validity but invariably put the will-maker’s estate to enormous expense to establish their legitimacy. Leslie Turnbull died on 8 October 2022 with no spouse…
27-09-2023
- Insufficient excuse for estrangement; further provision refused
Children left out of their parent’s will often make a claim against the estate to reverse the will-maker’s decision to exclude them. More often than not, they come to an agreement with…
26-09-2023
- Right to reside proves baseless; beneficiary to repay lost rent
What are the consequences to a family member who refuses to give up occupation of the deceased’s home after the will-maker’s death despite an executor’s demand that they do so. Patrick Tehan…
25-09-2023
- Dementia will & multiple beneficiary asset distribution gets court approval
Courts have the power in many cases to make wills on behalf of people who lack the legal capacity to do so for example by reason of dementia. The Supreme Court of…
15-06-2023