Succession law explained
Jim Morrison died on July 2 1971, from a heroin overdose with an estate worth $400,000. Some years before he died, Morrison created a will leaving everything to his common law wife, Pamela Courson, and if she failed to survive Morrison by three months, then his assets would pass to his brother and sister. After …
Continue reading "The Estate of Jim Morrison"
The distribution of an intestate estate is governed by legislation therefore it is treated differently depending upon the jurisdiction where the intestate lived. A useful illustration of the differences is how the spouse of the intestate is treated in the different states and territories in Australia Who is a Spouse? A Spouse is defined in …
In March 2014 a 30-year-old man died unexpectedly leaving an estate valued at around $600,000. He did not have a will and although he had separated from his wife two years prior to his death, and reached a property settlement he had not signed his divorce papers. Therefore Intestacy law mandated his estate go to …
Continue reading "Without sounding like a broken record – the importance of a Will"
If you die intestate your assets will be distributed according to a legislated formula in the jurisdiction where you live, regardless of your wishes. Under the laws of intestacy applying in NSW a beneficiary of those people who die without a valid Will must survive the intestate by 30 days to receive a benefit from …
You are considered to have died Intestate if you die without a Will or leave a Will deemed by the courts to be ineffective because it: fails to properly dispose of all your assets, does not met the legal formalities of being correctly signed and witnessed, or was made by someone who lacks legal capacity. Where part …
Australian Artist Brett Whiteley died accidentally of a drug overdose in June 1992 with an Estate worth $13 million. Due to his anger toward lawyers following a protracted and bitter divorce settlement he drafted a series of informal Wills that led to expensive litigation in order to clarify and settle his testamentary intentions. In May 1989, …
Karter Yu took his own life on 2 September 2011. Shortly before he died, he created a series of documents on his iPhone, one of which was expressed to be his last Will, commencing with the words, “This is the last Will and Testament...” Yu formally identified himself, gave his address, and typed his name at …
Most jurisdictions have requirements that must be met in order to have a formally valid will. This is an attempt to prevent fraud, undue influence, substitution or mistake from occurring due to the fact that the person who created the document is not available to be questioned when an executor is applying for probate. I had …
A Testator or Testatrix is a person who makes or has made a will; or a person who has died leaving a will. If a person dies without having made a will they are said to have died intestate. In order to make a valid will there are certain formalities that are prescribed by law. …
Wai Fun CHAN, an 85-year-old woman with eight children living throughout the world, died with property in NSW and overseas on 27 June 2012, leaving a formal will dated 6 March 2012. After the formal will was prepared and executed she was dissatisfied with it and as she was unable to return to her solicitor …