26 10, 2023

Paul burns himself in the kitchen

2023-10-26T10:19:35+10:00October 26th, 2023|

Article by Manny Wood published in the Coffs Coast News Of The Area on 27 October 2023. Paul, Amy, Grace and Harry are the adult children of Brian. Brian appointed Paul as executor of his will, as he thought having his 4 children as executors would just be too many cooks in the kitchen. Brian has considerable assets which are to be split equally amongst his children. After Brian passes-away, Paul retains a solicitor to assist him with obtaining a grant of probate and to provide advice regarding the administration of the estate. However, while the grant of probate was being processed by the Court, Paul decides [...]

19 10, 2023

Estate planning for young families

2023-10-19T10:31:41+10:00October 19th, 2023|

Article by Manny Wood published in the Coffs Coast News Of The Area on 20 October 2023. Jack and Jill, in their early 30s, have two young children and were recently married. They have worked hard to pay-off half of their mortgage and they have already accumulated a reasonable amount of superannuation. Jack is concerned that if he were to pass-away unexpectedly, whilst still being relatively young, it is likely that Jill would enter-into another relationship and that her new partner could “end up with everything” and that his children could miss-out on their inheritance. Jack seeks legal advice and is advised that it is possible for [...]

19 10, 2023

Judge determines multi-faceted property settlement

2023-10-19T09:55:21+10:00October 19th, 2023|

Article by Manny Wood published in the Coffs Coast News Of The Area on 13 October 2023. Adam and Rebecca separate after a 20 year relationship. They have one adult child. Adam own shares in a company that operates a business. The parties agree that the business is worth $500,000. They jointly own their matrimonial home, worth $1.5m, subject to a $500,000 mortgage. They each have personal effects and motor vehicles as well as credit card debts. The parties’ superannuation totals $300,000. Rebecca received a $200,000 inheritance, post separation. They each claim that they are entitled to a 60% share of the pool of assets and after [...]

5 10, 2023

Promises ain’t Promises

2023-10-05T09:42:48+10:00October 5th, 2023|

Article by Manny Wood published in the Coffs Coast News Of The Area on 6 October 2023. Beth and Sarah met through a mutual friend. As their friendship developed, Sarah asks Beth to help with clerical work to assist her prepare documents in relation to a property settlement in the Family Court. Sarah said to Beth “If things go well and I get what I want from the property settlement, I’ll buy you a seaside unit”. Beth was currently renting a small place in the suburbs. As it happened, Sarah was successful in her property settlement proceedings. Beth then began her search for a unit. However, this [...]

28 09, 2023

Court application to rectify error in Will

2023-09-28T14:18:54+10:00September 28th, 2023|

Article by Manny Wood published in the Coffs Coast News Of The Area on 29 September 2023. When Daniel meets Ruth, he has two children to a previous relationship. Daniel and Ruth purchase a vacant block and build their dream home. They own their home as tenants-in-common. They have two children together and they reside in the home for several decades. Daniel wishes to ensure that upon his death, Ruth is able to reside in their home and when she passes away, their children receive the home. He wishes for all of his children to ultimately receive an equal share of the rest of his estate. Daniel [...]

21 09, 2023

Carer faces considerable costs penalty

2023-09-21T15:22:46+10:00September 21st, 2023|

Article by Manny Wood published in the Coffs Coast News Of The Area on 22 September 2023. Daniel and Mary, who have been married for 50 years, have two children, Peter and Penny. Daniel passes-away, leaving the whole of his $1 million estate to Mary, aged 85. Mary is suffering from a number of medical conditions and resides in a nursing home. In tragic circumstances, Penny aged 50, is non-verbal and severely disabled. Peter, Penny’s carer believes that due to her condition, she should receive funds from her father’s estate to meet her future expenses. Peter commences action on Penny’s behalf, seeking $200,000 from Daniel’s estate. The [...]

14 09, 2023

Claw-back claim outside limitation period

2023-09-14T13:25:24+10:00September 14th, 2023|

Article by Manny Wood published in the Coffs Coast News Of The Area on 15 September 2023. Robert marries his second wife, Jane and they purchase a home together. They purchase the home as joint tenants. Robert makes a will, granting Jane the right to reside in the property for life with further provisions to the effect that upon her passing, his half of the home is gifted to his daughter from a previous relationship, Mary. Several years pass and when Robert dies at the age of 63 years, Mary obtains legal advice in relation to her entitlements in her father’s estate. It is revealed that apart [...]

7 09, 2023

Abusive parents await benefit

2023-09-07T11:53:31+10:00September 7th, 2023|

Article by Manny Wood published in the Coffs Coast News Of The Area on 8 September 2023. John was born in 2000. When John was 4 months old, he was admitted to hospital in a critical condition with severe head injuries. John was placed on life support for several weeks. The doctors believed that John's injuries were consistent with 'Shaken Baby Syndrome' although John's parents consistently denied that they had injured him and no charges were ever brought. In 2001, John was removed from his parents and was placed into foster care as a ward of the Minister for Community Services. In 2002, John was awarded a [...]

31 08, 2023

The peculiarities of purchasing “off the plan”

2023-08-31T11:41:16+10:00August 31st, 2023|

Article by Manny Wood published in the Coffs Coast News Of The Area on 1 September 2023. Penny plans to purchase a vacant block of land. The property is in the process of being subdivided from its parent property. Development Approval has been granted by Council but NSW Land Registry Services has not yet registered the new lot. Penny wishes to secure her purchase and wants to exchange contracts before registration. The vendor provides Penny with a contract for the sale of the land and she makes an appointment to review the contract with her solicitor. The contract contains a draft “plan” which has been prepared by [...]

24 08, 2023

Permanent Disability Almost Leads to Government Windfall

2023-08-24T14:47:52+10:00August 24th, 2023|

Article by Manny Wood published in the Coffs Coast News Of The Area on 25 August 2023. In 1983, Richard made a Will in which he gave the whole of his estate to his brother James. Richard did not have any children at the time, but he wanted to make a Will that he wouldn't have to update again. In 1993, Richard suffered a debilitating injury at work and was in a coma for several months. Richard never recovered fully from his injury and had severe and permanent cognitive impairment, to the extent that he was incapable of managing his personal and financial affairs or of making a Will. [...]

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