Earlier this year, I was surprised to read a judgement where a former spouse successfully claimed for further provision from her former husband’s estate notwithstanding the pair had completed a property settlement 25 years prior. You can read my earlier post here. It may come as no surprise that the matter was appealed to the…
Tag: intestacy
Leaving a “note” for mum successfully appealed; “Note” = Will
Not all that long ago, I wrote an article on a case involving a gentleman who had passed away in China. He was Australian Citizen who was resident in China for many years and he had left a note for his mum regarding his wishes to distribute some of his property which gave rise to…
Family Ties: Former wife successful in FPA where financial settlement finalised 25 years prior
I read, with interest, the recent case of Lodin v Lodin; Estate of Dr Mohammad Masoud Lodin [2017] NSWSC 10, which dealt with a family provision claim by a former spouse of the deceased where a financial property settlement had been reached some 25 years prior to the deceased’s date of death. In New South Wales, a claim for family…
Blood thicker than water: novel intestacy case in NSW, Aboriginal half-sisters vs adoptive half-sisters
Starting the year off on a very novel case of an intestacy contest, Justice Lindsay of the Supreme Court of New South Wales was called to determine how distribution of an indigenous man’s estate should be distributed where his surviving family were Aboriginal half-sisters and adoptive half-sisters. The case of Re Estate Wilson, Deceased [2017] NSWSC…
Crossing borders: Disputes and Domicile
I’ve always been fascinated by this particular question as to how to resolve a dispute where the issue of the deceased’s domicile is in question. There have been a few cases that discuss the issue of domicile, but the question as to what should happen when this issue is in dispute AND there’s a dispute as to a matter…
A Research Study – “Having the last word: Will making and Contestation in Australia”
I had the great pleasure of reading a very interesting report entitled “Having the last word: Will Making and Contestation in Australia”.
For those that want to skip to the good bits, you can access the report here.
In summary, the study was conducted over 4 years and is the bouncing baby booklet of the Public Trustees and the University of Queensland under an Australian Research Council Linkage Grant.
Two Hats: Administrator & Super fund beneficiary = breach of fiduciary duty and account for profits
Her Honour Justice Atkinson delivered judgement on the case of McIntosh v McIntosh on 16 May 2014. This case involved an application for directions by the Administrator of an estate regarding the superannuation proceeds paid directly to her as beneficiary (at the discretion of the trustees). The administrator was the deceased’s mother. The deceased was survived…