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Article by Manny Wood published in the Coffs Coast News Of The Area on 21 June 2024. When Jack passes-away at the age of 60, he had been in a de facto relationship with Jill for 6 years. Jack had three children to a previous relationship, one of whom, David, suffers from a severe disability. Shortly before Jack’s death, he transferred two properties into joint names with Jill. They also held joint bank accounts. The bank accounts included a substantial sum, which Jack had cashed-in from his superannuation fund. Upon Jack’s death, the jointly held assets passed to Jill by way of survivorship. These assets totalled $3 [...]

Article by Manny Wood published in the Coffs Coast News Of The Area on 14 June 2024. Scott’s parents divorce and when he is 3 years old, his father Tom, moves out. Tom re-marries 20 years later and spends the next 30 years, happily married to Wendy. Tom passes-away at the age of 75 and leaves the whole of his estate to Wendy. Tom owned the matrimonial home and an investment property as joint tenants with Wendy and had joint bank accounts with Wendy, totalling $1 million. Upon Tom’s death these assets pass to Wendy by way of “survivorship”. Scott makes a claim against Tom’s estate. The [...]

Article by Manny Wood published in the Coffs Coast News Of The Area on 7 June 2024. Gary died leaving his estate to his four children. He appointed his best mate, Nigel, as the executor of his will. Gary’s children anticipated the value of the estate, including his house was valued at around $2 million. However, Nigel’s handling of the estate led to significant frustration and suspicion among the beneficiaries. Nigel, who has a mate in the real estate business, obtained an appraisal of Gary's house. He then proceeded to sell the house to his son-in-law, for the value set-out in the appraisal. The sale raised eyebrows [...]

Article by Manny Wood published in the Coffs Coast News Of The Area on 31 May 2024. Barry and Michelle have two children, David and Peter. Sadly, Michelle passes-away after battling Alzheimer’s disease for many years. Barry talks to David about building a home at the rear of David’s property. Barry sells the family home and with the proceeds of sale, pays out David’s existing mortgage of $60,000 and constructs a new dwelling on David’s land. David and Barry talk to a lawyer about registering Barry as a co-owner of the property as to 50% as tenants in common. A Transfer form is filled-in but never witnessed, [...]

Article by Manny Wood published in the Coffs Coast News Of The Area on 24 May 2024. Mary divorced her first husband and has been living with her two sons, Peter and Paul as a single mother for the last couple of years. Mary meets David and after dating for several months, they decide to purchase a home and move-in together. Peter and Paul are aged 5 and 6 at the time. David assumes the role of a de facto father to Mary’s sons, until they move-out in their early adult years. Mary and David’s relationship spans 20 years before breaking-down following an argument in which Mary’s [...]

Article by Manny Wood published in the Coffs Coast News Of The Area on 17 May 2024. After twenty years together, David and Wendy’s marriage breaks-down and they decide to get divorced. Prior to David and Wendy’s relationship breakdown, David’s father passes away and he receives a significant inheritance of $500,000. David’s inheritance complicates the upcoming property settlement as Wendy believes that she is entitled to a 50% share. This windfall becomes a central point of contention as the couple untangle their finances. The question of whether Wendy has a claim to David’s inheritance isn't a simple yes or no, it depends on when David received the [...]

Article by Manny Wood published in the Coffs Coast News Of The Area on 10 May 2024. Daniel and Amy, in their twenties, purchased their first home a year ago and recently gave birth to their first child. Amy tries to talk to Daniel about their estate planning but Daniel is reluctant to discuss the matter. He says that the subject “gives him the creeps”. A few months pass and they decide to get away for the weekend. Amy’s mother, Mary babysits their child. Tragically, they are involved in a road incident and they never return. Mary seeks legal advice. Mary’s paramount concern is the guardianship of [...]

Article by Manny Wood published in the Coffs Coast News Of The Area on 3 May 2024. Harry proposes to Wendy a year after they meet. Wendy says “Yes!” and wedding arrangements commence. Six weeks before the wedding, Wendy asks Harry to sign a prenuptial agreement, saying that her parents will not allow them to marry if he doesn’t sign the agreement. Harry is surprised and upset but nonetheless tells Wendy that he will sign anything to marry her. Wendy sources a solicitor to provide Harry with advice regarding the agreement. Harry signs the agreement but states to his solicitor that he feels he is under duress. [...]

Article by Manny Wood published in the Coffs Coast News Of The Area on 26 April 2024. Navigating the realm of probate can often seem daunting, leaving many grappling with its complexities. Fundamentally, probate is the legal validation of a deceased individual's will, cataloguing of the assets of the estate, identifying outstanding debts and taxes, and recording the distribution to beneficiaries. The practical intricacies of probate come to light through the distinct experiences of Brian, Julie and their friend Kathryn. Julie held jointly only owned assets with Brian. Upon his death, Julie sought legal advice, to discover that, due to the joint ownership of their assets, the [...]

Article by Manny Wood published in the Coffs Coast News Of The Area on 19 April 2024. John and Judy, both in their 60’s, separate after 40 years of marriage. John built-up a successful business but is now semi-retired. Judy gave-up a career to support John and care for their child, Kevin, who has special needs. Judy is still Kevin’s carer. John and Judy wish to proceed with a property settlement but they are concerned about the legal process. They do not want to be involved in the traditional adversarial system and they are worried about the stress, delays and costs involved. They also feel that the [...]