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But you promised me the farm?!? Promissory estoppel and the alternate family provision claim deceased estate estates family provision promissory estoppel supreme court Oct 16, 2024

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...

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Additional estate provision for spouse - from the children's shares deceased estate estate estates family provision supreme court Sep 03, 2024

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...

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When an Estate is left to adult children but not the deceased's spouse deceased estate family provision succession act supreme court Sep 13, 2023

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...

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The power of section 100 statements: exploring the testator's choices in estate planning estate planning estates family provision succession act supreme court Apr 10, 2023

 When a person creates a will, they have the power to decide who will inherit their property and assets after they pass away. In some cases, a testator may choose to exclude a child from their will, and in such cases, they may choose to include a statement explaining the reasons why the...

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Who is a "child" when planning your estate? estate planning estates family provision succession act Dec 07, 2022

In a modern society where dynamic family structures are becoming more prevalent and varying methods of contraception are widely accessible, it follows that the legal definition of a 'child' has broadened significantly. Where 'child' was previously considered as only biological, the definition has...

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Statutory wills - for when testamentary capacity is lacking capacity estate planning estates family provision intestacy statutory will succession act supreme court wills Sep 08, 2020

Division 2 (in particular, section 18) of the Succession Act 2006(NSW) allows the Court to authorise wills to be made, altered or revoked for persons who do not have testamentary capacity , whilst they are still alive (s18(3)) – this includes a minor who does not have the capacity...

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Life estates and will disputes contested will estate planning estates family provision probate wills Jun 24, 2020

Overview

Wills and Estates can be a particularly complex area of law, especially where multiple family provision claims are being made.  In the case of Ng v Lau; In the Estate of Ken Kui Yuen Lau [2020] NSWSC 713, a number of issues were raised including two family provision...

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Can you prevent a claim? estate planning estates family provision probate wills Feb 13, 2020

It can be hard when preparing a Will to determine whether or not the testator ought to leave a token legacy for those people whom they believe would otherwise make a claim on their estate.  This case is an example of the possible orders a court will make where it is satisfied that the main...

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Avoiding family provision claims on your Estate: things to consider when preparing your Will estate planning estates family provision wills Nov 22, 2019

In a judgment handed down on 30 April 2019, the Court of Appeal has allowed an appeal by the adult children of a deceased man for further provision from his Estate.

The Case:  Squire v Squire [2019] NSWCA 90 (30 April 2019)

The Family – In this case, the deceased had three...

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Family Provision - full and frank disclosure in contested estates contested will deceased estate estates family provision wills Mar 21, 2019

CASE UPDATE: The Supreme Court of New South Wales has recently handed down a decision (Stone v Stone [2019] NSWSC 233) stressing the need for participants to Family Provision proceedings to make full and frank financial disclosure to the Court, and to the other parties. This means complete...

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"Crisp orders" - more than just a life interest estate planning estates family provision wills Sep 06, 2018

The term "Crisp order" refers to the principal established by the 1979 Supreme Court of New South Wales decision, Crisp v Burns Philp Trustee Company Ltd.  The principle relates to family provision cases, where a person who satisfies the definition of "eligible person" makes a...

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Another successful claim by an adult child for further provision from their parent's estate estate planning estates family provision wills Aug 12, 2017

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...

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