Succession law explained
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 …
Howard Hughes the billionaire aviator, industrialist and filmmaker died in April 5 1976, at the age of 70, without a will. Hughes' assets were governed by the Summa Corporation, and were valued at more than $2 billion. At the time of his death no one was certain if Hughes had left a will, and as …
A person making a Will must have testamentary capacity at the time that it is made (or at the time that the instructions are given) in order for the will to be valid. The test for establishing whether a testator has mental capacity to write a Will was established in Banks v Goodfellow. John Banks, the …