The case of McLeod v Napthali [2021] NSWSC 1621 really struck me as I read this brief judgement today. Great thanks and shout out to buddy Clifford Hughes for sharing this one with me (he understands my great love of all things estrangement and disentitling conduct in FPAs!). This is great humanity demonstrated by His…
Tag: estate dispute
Left out of Struggle Street; Right onto Found Freeway
A little update from me. I hope everyone is fairing as well as can be in the pandemic and everything that it has touched over these past 2 years. I wanted to write a slightly different blog post today. The first thing I want to do is apologise to anyone who frequents my blog for…
Pandemic or Prejudice: FPA hearing vacated amid COVID-19 (ACT)
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…
Danger Zone: costs against plaintiff in FPA in small estate (NSW)
Family provision claims in small estates is an inherit danger zone for claimants and lawyers. The recent case of Wengdal v Rawnsley [2019] NSWSC 926 has demonstrated this again where Justice Hallen has ordered that the plaintiff’s claim be dismissed and the plaintiff pay the defendant’s costs on the ordinary basis. In this case, the deceased…
What is “Contemplation of marriage”: Marriage revokes Will in blended family (NSW)
Last week, the Supreme Court of New South Wales published a judgement in a estate matter where the question of whether a Will was “made in contemplation of marriage” was a central focus of their attention. In the case of Re Estate Grant, deceased [2018] NSWSC 1031, the deceased made a Will dated on about…
FPA 7 years out of time: Allowed on Appeal (WA)
In an unusual case published a few weeks ago, the Western Australian Court of Appeal allowed an extension of time for an adult son to bring a claim against his late father’s estate 7 years after the time limit expired. The claim was dismissed at first instance and the adult son appealed asserting 9 different…
The Unsent Text Message Will: Is it really that simple? No – it’s really not! (QLD)
It’s likely been in your news feed recently that an unsent text message was held by a Queensland Court to be a valid Will. It may seem quite unbelievable to some that this would even happen! On the other hand, maybe it doesn’t? Reviewing the comments that appear in many of the media articles online…
No Will, no way?: Court refuses application for statutory Will in large estate (Qld)
Admittedly, it’s not something that one regularly thinks about, but the issue of incapacitated people making Wills is a topic that achieves much discussion nowadays. Where a person doesn’t have a Will, whether by choice or otherwise, the law provides what I like to call a “back-up plan” or formula, if you will, of how…
Rural farming and interpretation of “farming machinery” within a Will
As a regional lawyer living in a semi-rural area and with family in the farming industry (and as a succession nerd generally!), I thoroughly enjoyed reading this case. This case of Frey v Frey [2015] QDC 184 involved an issue of interpretation when the testator gifted “farming machinery” to a beneficiary. With multiple properties (gifted in various…