Nicholas Kyriakoudes For many writing a will is a confronting task. Thinking about death and planning how you will support your family after you die is a challenging thought. However, making a will is necessary for this purpose and should not be overlooked. While many people wish that the whole of their estate gets given [...]
By Nicholas Kyriakoudes The death of a family member or loved one can be an emotionally challenging and draining time. This is particularly so where someone feels they have been unfairly omitted or not properly provided for in the testator’s will. Whilst the law of succession reflects the notion of testamentary freedom, meaning that generally [...]
By Peter Bahlmann No, is the general answer. As an attorney appointed under a Power of Attorney in New South Wales you are required to deal with the property and finances of the principal for the benefit of the principal in the principal's best interests. Unless there is an express ‘benefits’ clause in the Power [...]
By Matt Kearins For Australian ex-pats, citizens overseas, or even individuals with significant business in Australia, knowing where to start legal proceedings can be a tricky situation. If you’re trying between starting proceedings in Australia or another country, it is important to have an understanding of forum non conveniens. This is a legal principle that [...]
The law specifies certain legal requirements for a document to be regarded as a person’s valid Will. Principally, these requirements are that: the person making the Will (Testator) signs the document at the foot and preferably at the foot of each page; in the presence of two witnesses who also sign the document and who [...]
When someone passes away, it is quite common for family members and/or other interested parties to ask about obtaining a copy or attending the “reading of the will” (if there is one).It is also quite common for people to be told that they are not entitled to view the will or have a copy of [...]
An Advance Care Directive (ACD), sometimes called an Advance Health Care Directive, is a document that sets out your wishes in relation to your consent to or refusal of specified medical treatment in the future. The document becomes effective in situations where you are no longer able to make decisions for yourself and is [...]
Recent case law had demonstrated that the size of the Estate doesn’t always mean that an Applicant in a family provisions claim will be successful in attempting to get more than the legacy left under the Will. In Revell v Revell [2016] NSWSC 947, His Honour Pembroke J found that a legacy of $1.5 million to [...]
With a Hansons Lawyers testamentary trust the trustee (controller) of each testamentary trust you create is also the primary beneficiary of their own trust. That person (your spouse, child or other nominated beneficiary) becomes ineligible to be the trustee and have control of their own trust if they have problems with debt or are in [...]
Parents at all times have assisted their children to become established in life but in more recent times the amount of financial assistance being given by parents to their children to enter into the property market, has been significant. Parents assist their children and do not usually give much thought to the legal implications [...]
