Jonathan See of Townsends Business & Corporate Lawyers recently published an article on ‘Preparing for the Inevitable: Getting your estate documents together’. Below is an excerpt, the suggested list of documents clients can provide to Executor/s as part of their estate planning activities.
probate
Probate – a detailed overview from SuperCentral
The process of probate may seem straightforward but, depending on the complexity of a client’s estate plan, along with family dynamics, it is not always easy to navigate.
Which country, which will?
The Victorian case of Re Tang [2017] looked at a raft of issues that arose when the deceased had assets in both Australia and China.
Can a video will be admitted to probate?
Donna is a widow and is 85 years old. Due to her deteriorating health, she is unable to attend her solicitor’s office to make a formal Will. So she decides to record a statement on DVD, stating that she wants to give a special legacy in favour of her two daughters with the help of […]
DIY Wills are not the same as DIY Super
The courts are littered with examples of ‘do it yourself’ Wills that have gone wrong. It doesn’t matter how simple you think your Will is – even smart people like a retired ANU Professors can and do get them wrong. As a result of the ambiguities in the deceased’s Will, and notwithstanding that he was […]
A case study on moving quickly to protect assets
After their father died, John’s and Mary’s mother was grief-stricken and for several years had little or no social life. Gradually, though, she began to broaden her social network and eventually she met a nice man who shared her interests. John and Mary quite liked Neville, though they never really thought of him as part […]
Executorship and estate administration: a substantial opportunity for advisers
What is an executor? An “executor” is a person who administers a deceased person’s Will. If the deceased did not leave a Will, then the person administering the deceased’s estate is, not surprisingly, called “the administrator”. An ordered society needs rules to ensure that a deceased person’s wishes regarding their estate are followed. Different societies […]
Charitable bequests will have a higher survival rate if made outside of the Will and beyond challenge
Sadly, charitable bequests often give rise to family squabbles and contested Will claims by disgruntled family members and sometimes estranged or distant relatives. “Recent Australian trends show that charitable bequests are frequently overturned by the courts, or the charity ends up with only a fraction of the intended bequest.[i] In general, charities are reluctant to […]