In New South Wales, an "eligible person" making a claim on a deceased estate needs to establish that inadequate provision was made by the deceased for the claimant's "proper maintenance, education or advancement in life" (section 59 of the Succession Act).  If the claimant has already been provided ...

Iron Horse Machines Pty Ltd v Olmate Holdings Pty Ltd [2024] WASC 383

The dispute between Iron Horse Machines Pty Ltd and Olmate Holdings Pty Ltd arises from the breakdown of a long-standing business partnership between two long-time friends, Mr James Cross and the late Mr Darren Verwijmeren. The t...

Complexities can arise in disputes over wills and estate management, particularly when questions of testamentary capacity and undue influence are at the heart of the proceedings. In reviewing the recent Supreme Court case of Green v Green [2024] NSWSC 1442 below, we will explore the various legal pr...

Hildebrandt v Papakonstantinou [2024] NSWSC 1181 (19 September 2024)

 In a recent case decided by the New South Wales Supreme Court, the plaintiffs sought relief based on the doctrine of proprietary estoppel and, alternatively, a family provision order in relation to a rural property owned by their...

Pillinger v Lees [2024] NSWSC 1067 (23 August 2024)

The Supreme Court of New South Wales last week ruled on a family provision claim brought by a spouse against the estate of her late husband. This case, under Section 59 of the Succession Act 2006 (NSW), focused on whether sufficient provision was ...

All legal dealings, especially when they are between friends and family members, should be documented - which will be helpful if a dispute ever arises (or even, as in this case, one of the parties dies and the family needs to understand the nature of the dealing).  The Supreme Court of New South Wal...

There is a concept called "testamentary freedom" -  a will-maker has the freedom to draft a document leaving their estate to whomever they wish. However, the document needs to be drafted so that it correctly reflects the will-maker's wishes, and when terms such as "survives me" and "it is my wish" a...

Yet again, the Supreme Court has dealt with the issue as to whether provision should be made from a deceased estate for a person who claims to have been the deceased's de facto partner, or some other form of "eligible person", for that person's future maintenance, education or advancement in life.

Not only can an estate challenge be made by someone who is a blood relative of the deceased (so long as they satisfy one of the categories of relatives set out in the definition of “eligible person”, as defined in section 57 of the Succession Act 2006 (NSW)), but it can also be made by someone who i...

Case:

Kovac v Chanak [2017] NSWSC 1023 (31 July 2017)

This matter relates to the burial of “Jovan Kovac” in plot #33 at Mona Vale Cemetery in June 2012.  At the time, the burial took place with the consent of the deceased’s cousin (the defendant in these proceedings), who holds the burial licence ...