The recent case of Ryan v Dalton highlights the role of testamentary capacity when making a will.  The case emphasised that there is a burden on the proponent of the will to demonstrate to the court that the last will created was made by a “free and capable” testator.

Background facts

Francis Jame...

On 10 August 2017, the Supreme Court yet again made an order in favour of an adult child who claimed for a larger share of their deceased parent's estate, under the family provision laws: Towson v Francis [2017] NSWSC 1034

The family

The person making the claim was one of 3 adult children whose mo...

Clients often ask us who is entitled to see a copy of a Will (and obtain a copy of the Will) once the testator has passed away.

The answer can be found in section 54 of the Succession Act 2006 (NSW), which provides a list of categories of persons entitled to inspect the Will:

• anyone named in the
...

Blended families and step-families are becoming increasingly common in Australia, creating new and additional estate planning needs and concerns which must be addressed.

What is a blended family?

A blended family is a family where one or both of the partners in the relationship have a child or chi...

For a whole variety of reasons, some clients choose to leave close family members out of their Wills.  Sometimes it’s because of a long-standing family conflict, sometimes because they feel that a particular family member does not need as much financial assistance as other family members.

Anyone wh...

A recent Supreme Court decision (Lodin v Lodin; Estate of Dr Mohammad Masoud Lodin [2017] NSWSC 10) has highlighted the rights that former spouses may have to make a claim on a deceased’s estate – particularly if the estate is substantial and the Court finds that the deceased had a moral obligation ...

It is certainly a reality that more and more claims these days are being made by aggrieved family members for an increased inheritance once a family member has passed away.

Such claims are made pursuant to the “family provision” section of the Succession Act 2006(NSW).

If you are preparing your Wi...

It is an unfortunate fact of life that family relationships break down - and as a result, the aggrieved family member may alter their Will to remove the other family member as a beneficiary, or only leave them with a nominal gift - even if it is their child.  Whilst it is every person's right to pre...

When preparing a Will, it is crucial that it is prepared in accordancewith the relevant laws – in New South Wales, that law is the Succession Act 2006.  Otherwise, your Will is at risk of being an invalid document, or even capable of a number of different interpretations if not worded correctly, and...

It is a commonly held belief that if you die without a Will, your assets automatically transfer to the State.  However, this is incorrect.  It is only if you die without a Will and without any eligible relatives that your assets will transfer to the State.

Who are eligible relatives?

Eligible rela...

In the recent case of Baird v Harris, the Supreme Court of New South Wales certainly thought so.

This case concerned the estate of a deceased man who had 2 adult children, one of whom suffers from Autistic Spectrum Disorder.  The deceased’s estate consisted of a property near Lake Macquarie, cash, ...

Time and time again Shire Legal prepares Wills for parents who are living in Australia and whose ex-spouses are resident overseas, with little or no contact with the children. If the Australian parent dies, will the children be required to move overseas to live with their surviving parent?

Not nece...