A blog about succession, trust and elder law cases across Australia
Getting an executor removed for undesirable behaviour can be quite the challenge in practice. Many elements are part of the equation including the conduct of the parties, the nature of the estate, the steps required to be taken to finalise the estate and the cost of appointing someone separately to administer the estate. Normally, the…
Read More
I am so proud to share with you all that this little introverted succession nerd was asked to be interviewed by the amazing Clarissa Rayward, the Happy Family Lawyer, Creator, Author and Podcaster at Happy Lawyer Happy Life. Clarissa has been celebrating lawyers of all varieties, specialties and backgrounds for 4 years now, including even…
Read More
I must start this post with an absolutely huge thank you for the patience of my delightful blog followers. I have been a little distracted of late, but I promise, I will never forget this beloved blog of mine. I have a few cases to write about that I’m sure you will all enjoy, starting…
Read More
The liability of a mortgage is probably one of the most significant liabilities a couple will share. Whilst many times it’s a fairly equal distribution of that liability when everything is held jointly, it’s not always the case in circumstances of second/later relationships or a singular income earner and home maker. The recent decision of…
Read More
The wait is now officially over with the new Queensland Powers of Attorney and Advamce Health Directive documents now being released. E documents are approved for use from 30 November 2020. These documents coincide with the legislative changes I wrote about regarding attorneys and guardians last year. This is the first update to these well…
Read More
It is no surprise to any of my colleagues in the succession world that this topic is of great interest to me. So, you can imagine my interest when I found this case. A few days ago, the New South Wales Supreme Court determined a matter that involved a family provision claim by an adult…
Read More
You might recall that last year I wrote a post on new changes to laws for attorneys and administrators following the passing of the Guardianship and Administration and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2019. With the craziness that we now call COVID-19, the implementation of these changes that was scheduled for 30 March 2020 was postponed…
Read More
I recently read an interesting media article on a family provision case and had to look further into get to the bottom of it. It involves a case where an adult child made a claim against a father’s estate for further provision having received no provision from the estate under the father’s Will. What was…
Read More
On 20 August 2020, the Australian Capital Territory passed legislation criminalising acts of abuse of vulnerable people. The term ‘elder abuse’, for many, is a problematic term as it suggests it is only an abuse that only affects elders, when the truth of it is, it affects those that are vulernable. The new legislation acknowledges…
Read More
Today is the first day of my last week in legal practice. And, I’ve got to say, so far, it’s a roller coaster of emotions! Soon, I will be swapping my practice poncho for a research robe after being offered a scholarship to do my Doctorate with the Queensland University of Technology’s Australian Centre for…
Read More
New regulations for Wills and EPAs made by Qld Government amid COVID-19
Read More
For those that prefer the company of the Facebook platform, I have, today, created a page for all my succession nerd ramblings. I’ve recently found that the Facebook platform to have developed in to quite a good platform to follow people and even, where appropriate, interact and engage with people via their page. I also…
Read More
I sincerely hope this reaches my readers, followers, and passers-by in a situation where they are safe and well during this tumultuous time in the world! For those in litigation, your practice is changing daily as we wait (and wait) for certainty (if it is ever arrives!); and those hearings aren’t going anywhere.. or are…
Read More
I have been eagerly awaiting delivery of the appeal decision in Birch v Birch [2018] QSC 289. The case of Birch v Birch involved a situation where a mother had transferred her interest in a farming property to one of her sons, who also happened to be the mother’s duly appointed power of attorney. Whilst…
Read More
When someone contests a Will after being left out or not getting what they feel is their fair share, it’s more often than not that the surviving family want to suggest that that person’s conduct doesn’t entitlement to more, or sometimes anything. This is what us #lawnerds term as “disentitling conduct” in the context of…
Read More
Near the end of last year, I wrote a post about an FPA by a disabled son where provision was ordered in favour of that son to the detriment of the surviving widow of the deceased. This was, I feel, aptly described in the title as “Decision Impossible” as the effect of the order was…
Read More
Last Friday afternoon, I received a very surprising and humbling email that informed me that I was a Finalist in the Queensland Law Society Awards for Proctor – Best Feature Article Award for 2020 for my piece called “New Principles for Decision Makers: Bill addresses conflict transactions and more” which appeared in May 2019. The…
Read More
In the first post of this year, it seems fitting to write on the topic of disentitling conduct and estrangement, given my research interests in this space. Sadly, late last year saw the NSW Supreme Court determine a family provision application by a son against his father’s estate in what was clearly a very difficult…
Read More
This week has found me reading lots of different and interesting cases and I can barely keep up! However, I was really interested to read this case and, whilst I appreciate my amazing subscribers are being bombarded with emails, I just had to post about it. Last week, the Victorian Court of Appeal was called…
Read More
Recently, the NSW Supreme Court determined a very difficult family provision application by an adult son, in circumstances where the adult son was otherwise healthy when the deceased passed away, but subsequently suffered significant health issues following his father’s death. Further, the only available assets for such a family provision claim were via notional estate.…
Read More
