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Article by Manny Wood published in the Coffs Coast News Of The Area on 9 June 2023. David and Helen live in the same apartment complex. A relationship develops and they begin dating. They start sleeping over at each other’s unit and they exchange keys. After a couple of years, they begin going on holidays together. They attend social and business functions together, regularly dine-out and exchange gifts. David asks Helen to marry him and they have discussions regarding having children. However, Helen does not wish to be married and does not wish to have children. Their relationship deteriorates and Helen makes statements regarding the ending of [...]

Article by Manny Wood published in the Coffs Coast News Of The Area on 2 June 2023. Gregory makes a will at the age of 80 years, leaving the contents of his garage and his motor vehicle to his son, David. He leaves the rest of his substantial estate to his daughter, Penny and appoints her as his executor. When Gregory passes away, David lodges a caveat in the probate registry, preventing Penny from obtaining a grant of probate. There is no evidence that Gregory did not have the requisite mental capacity to make the will. There is no evidence that Penny engaged in undue influence or [...]

Article by Manny Wood published in the Coffs Coast News Of The Area on 26 May 2023. Peter and Dianne have been married for 30 years. Unfortunately, Dianne unexpectedly passes away, aged 50. When Dianne’s mother passes away 15 years later, she leaves the whole of her $2 million estate to her sole surviving daughter, Ruth. Peter believes that he should have received something under the will and makes a claim. Peter has no standing to make a claim by virtue of being a son-in-law of the deceased. However, persons who can establish that they were dependent upon a deceased person and a member of the deceased [...]

Article by Manny Wood published in the Coffs Coast News Of The Area on 19 May 2023. Doris and Desmond had always dreamed of buying a spacious new house for their growing family. They had just welcomed twins, Doreen and David to their family, consisting of two other children and their lovable puppy, Dozer. Desmond decided to make an offer on a new property, proposing a purchase price of $950,000 to the agent. Unfortunately, the vendor rejected the offer due to Desmond's request for a 120-day cooling-off period, which would enable him obtain finance or sell their current home. Determined to secure their dream home, Desmond devised [...]

Article by Manny Wood published in the Coffs Coast News Of The Area on 12 May 2023. Coming up to this column’s 10-year anniversary, here is a remaster of the very first article. Jack and Jill have been in a de facto relationship for a few years. They each have two children to a previous relationship. They discuss their Wills with each other and agree that their children are to be the primary beneficiaries of their respective estates. They both have significant amounts of superannuation and they purchased a home together last year. They do not have any other significant assets. Jack and Jill make valid Wills, [...]

Article by Manny Wood published in the Coffs Coast News Of The Area on 5 May 2023. Mary passes-away after a three-year bout with cancer. She leaves two adult children, David and Julie. Julie lived with Mary for 15 years prior to her death. Mary’s will gifts her four-bedroom home to Julie and only makes nominal provision for David. There is a mortgage on Mary’s home, with $300,000 owing. Mary also made a binding death benefit nomination in relation to her superannuation, with the effect that Julie receives 90% and David receives 10% of the death benefit. Julie uses her share of the super to pay $200,000 [...]

Article by Manny Wood published in the Coffs Coast News Of The Area on 28 April 2023. David decides to update his will. He nominates his four children, Levi, Kate, Charlie, and Billy as executors. However, his solicitor advises David to consider reducing the number of executors as the children are interstate and overseas, which may make it difficult to administer the estate. David follows the solicitor's advice and chooses his daughter Kate as the sole executor with Billy as the substitute. Over Christmas dinner, David informs his children of his decision regarding his will. His choice of executors creates tension and hostility in the family. As a result, [...]

Article by Manny Wood published in the Coffs Coast News Of The Area on 21 April 2023. Cheryl contacts a local solicitor and arranges an urgent hospital visit so that her father, Bill, can make a Will. Bill is suffering from terminal cancer and is in palliative care. When the solicitor arrives at the hospital, he meets with Bill alone and is satisfied Bill has the mental capacity to make a new Will. Bill explains to the solicitor that he only has two daughters, Cheryl and Jan and that he wants Cheryl to “have the lot” because he hasn’t spoken to Jan for 20 years. The solicitor [...]

Article by Manny Wood published in the Coffs Coast News Of The Area on 14 April 2023. Matthew and Mary each have a child to a previous relationship. Matthew’s daughter, Helen spends most of her childhood living with her mother but lives with Matthew and Mary between the ages of 16 and 18 years, before moving out. The relationship between Mary and Helen remains amicable until Matthew is admitted into a nursing home decades later. When Matthew passes away, he leaves the whole of his estate to Mary. When Mary passes away 10 years later, leaving a one million-dollar estate, her will gives the whole of the [...]

Article by Manny Wood published in the Coffs Coast News Of The Area on 7 April 2023. Jack and Jill each have two children to previous relationships. They have been married for 10 years and are concerned about their estate planning. Their primary concern is that they want to make proper provision for each other but they also wish to ensure that their respective childrens’ inheritance is protected. They seek specialist advice. The solicitor explains that if they make “simple” wills, leaving their whole estate to each other, with all four children receiving a share of the survivor’s estate, that there is a risk that the survivor [...]