- Court refuses undue influence estate caveat removal
A caveat can be lodged in the court registry against the issue of a grant of probate or letters of administration. The applicant for the grant then needs to decide whether to…
10-04-2023
- Denial of court’s authority warrants removal of an administrator
Even beneficiaries with minor interests in an estate are entitled to apply to the court for the removal of an administrator to ensure the prompt and impartial administration of a deceased estate…
05-04-2023
- Court disqualifies eligible applicant; independent administrator preferred
A court is often asked to decide who of several prospects be appointed to administer an estate or whether an independent administrator is preferable. This might happen where all those named in…
01-03-2023
- Next in line fails to block spouse from mortgaging mutual will farm asset
Do mutual will obligations between spouses establish a trust that gives rise to a caveatable interest upon one of their deaths in favour of a beneficiary over what is said to be…
02-03-2023
- Court orders broad interpretation of will to halt farms going to charity
When will a court consider family history and conduct to interpret a will-maker’s intention when gifts to beneficiaries are only vaguely identified? Allan Bell died in March 2020. He had never married…
20-12-2022
- Will kit will leads to intestacy; spouse to lose benefits
What happens when a valid will doesn’t name beneficiaries? The Queensland Supreme Court was recently asked by a deceased’s spouse to rectify a will to name her as the beneficiary in the…
09-12-2022
- DIY litigant fails to pursue estate claim; executors recover possession
Executors sometimes find it difficult to remove an occupant from a property, especially where the person resides there with the will-maker’s consent. The New South Wales Supreme Court recently had to consider…
14-11-2022
- 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
- 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
- Mutual adoration ≠ spousal mutual will agreement
Spouses often make wills in similar or “mirror” terms. Following one of their deaths, the survivor has the power to revoke any such “mirror” will and leave their estate to beneficiaries different…
11-09-2022
- Statutory will claim: Testator hesitation may lead to government windfall
The procrastination that accompanies the need to put one’s estate in order is notorious. Consider the case of a wealthy deceased whose indecision has a good chance in resulting in her multimillion-dollar…
08-09-2022