Succession law explained
As has been discussed if you die without a Will distribution of your estate is made more difficult. An executor can begin to administer a deceased estate almost immediately but it takes time for letters of administration of an intestate estate to be granted by a Court. The situation is further compounded if a sole director …
Continue reading "Intestacy & The Sole Company Director"
Indigenous Australia with a diverse spread of people from rural, urban, traditional and historical communities is not a homogenous entity. Which makes it difficult to formulate a general scheme that would be suitable to apply with regard to intestacy throughout all Indigenous communities in Australia. Generally in Australia, the distribution of property on intestacy is based …
In yesterdays post I discussed the changes to the intestacy provisions regarding bona vacantia. Ian McDermott (also known as Ian Thompson) died without a Will leaving an estate, valued at about $166,000. Ian was unmarried at the time of his death, had no children of his own and his parents and only brother has predeceased …
Continue reading "Minister Waives States Right to Bona Vacantia"
Bona vacantia is the Crown’s statutory right to the property of an intestate. If the legislated order for relatives has been exhausted then the State is entitled to the estate of the intestate. In modern society the reduction in the size of the average family and the higher incidence of single child families the possibility …
Continue reading "If I die Intestate does the Government get my Estate?"
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 …
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, …