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Article by Manny Wood published in the Coffs Coast News Of The Area on 29 March 2024. Mary makes a will, leaving the whole of her estate to her five grandchildren. She passes-away with an estate worth $1 million. Mary’s two adult daughters contest the will, seeking provision from her estate. The Supreme Court hears evidence that Mary’s previous will, made some 30 years ago, left the whole of her estate to charity. She had no grandchildren at the time. Mary also left a statement, accompanying her will, stating that her daughters received a substantial inheritance from their aunt, which was later revealed to be in the [...]

Article by Manny Wood published in the Coffs Coast News Of The Area on 15 March 2024. A will seeks to ensure your testamentary intentions are upheld but what happens when the will itself goes missing? That's the situation facing Dave’s intended beneficiaries. According to Dave's will, the majority of his estate is left to his two children from his second marriage, Harriet and Daisy and his new de facto partner, Hazel. However, he only leaves a small legacy to his three older children from his first marriage, believing they are already financially secure. Dave keeps his original will at home, but after he is admitted to palliative [...]

Article by Manny Wood published in the Coffs Coast News Of The Area on 15 March 2024. Gloria, who was widowed a few years ago, intends to build a self-contained unit on her son’s property. She will use her savings to build the ‘granny flat’ and will rely on the Age Pension to meet her living expenses. She wishes to live in the granny flat for the rest of her life. Gloria seeks legal advice and is advised that with a view to minimising the potential for disputes in the future, the arrangement should be documented in writing. A written agreement will also be useful for Centrelink [...]

Article by Manny Wood published in the Coffs Coast News Of The Area on 8 March 2024. Kate makes a will, leaving $200,000 and her motor vehicle to her friend Peter. She leaves the rest of her estate to her three grandchildren. Six months prior to her death, Kate writes a note stating; “I wish to leave my house to Peter because he was the only one who was there for me in my times of need”. Kate signs and dates the document. She gives the document to Peter later that day. When Kate passes-away, Peter seeks to have the handwritten note recognised. Peter makes an application [...]

Article by Manny Wood published in the Coffs Coast News Of The Area on 1 March 2024. Bill and Matilda recently purchased a ‘renovator’s delight’. Lucy, a young builder, was hired by Bill and Matilda to assist with the renovation. The three formed quite the team and enjoyed long working days and the not so occasional knock-off drinks. Their friendship grew strong. One day, Lucy informed her friends that her rental accommodation was coming to an end, and that she was struggling to find housing, as she owns dogs. The three decided that Lucy could purchase the property from Bill and Matilda. As bank finance was not [...]

Article by Manny Wood published in the Coffs Coast News Of The Area on 23 February 2024. Barry signs a binding death benefit nomination in hospital on the same day that he tragically passes-away. The effect of the nomination is that the whole of Barry’s substantial superannuation fund is to be left to his de facto partner. Barry’s executors say that the death benefit nomination is not valid because Barry lacked the requisite mental capacity at the time he signed the nomination and in the alternative, they claim that he was the victim of unconscionable conduct on the part of his de facto partner. The dispute proceeds [...]

Article by Manny Wood published in the Coffs Coast News Of The Area on 16 February 2024. William obtains accommodation in a nursing home and authorises his friend David to be a signatory in relation to his bank accounts. David agrees to pay William’s bills and rollover his substantial fixed term deposits. During the course of the following 5 years, William’s bank accounts are diminished by approximately $1 million. When William passes-away, his son discovers in his office as executor of the estate, that cash amounts were systematically withdrawn from William’s bank account at his local branch and large amounts were transferred directly to David’s account and [...]

Article by Manny Wood published in the Coffs Coast News Of The Area on 9 February 2024. Harry passes-away leaving an estate worth $3 million. Harry’s will, prepared 30 years ago, leaves his whole estate to his son, George. He makes no provision for his three daughters. The three daughters make “family provision” claims against Harry’s estate. At the hearing, the daughters ask the Court to award each of them $600,000 and express the view that it is appropriate for them to be treated equally. There is no evidence as to why Harry chose to disinherit his daughters. George submits that the daughters should not be treated [...]

Article by Manny Wood published in the Coffs Coast News Of The Area on 2 February 2024. Jack meets Jill, 15 years his junior and after dating for a year, they become engaged to be married. They both bring no substantial assets into the relationship. Jack and Jill enter-into a long-distance relationship for a year before Jack wins the lottery. He says to Jill; “We won the lotto!”. They are married shortly thereafter and Jack purchases a home with the winnings. Jack and Jill move-into the home with Jill’s three children from a previous relationship. Jill’s children move-out five years later and after a couple of years, [...]

Article by Manny Wood published in the Coffs Coast News Of The Area on 26 January 2024. Dave, a creature of habit, purchased a lotto ticket every week. He was a pillar of the community who unfortunately lost his wife, in tragic circumstances, several years ago. Dave maintained a relationship with his mum and his supportive sister. Dave loved his two children, Wayne and Sharon very much and worked hard to provide for them. Tragically, Dave was unexpectedly killed by a lightning strike. However, in a turn of events that can only be described as extraordinary, his lotto ticket that week was a winner, netting a windfall [...]