12 Dangerous Stresses of Administering a Deceased Estate in SA

12 Dangerous Stresses of Administering a Deceased Estate in SA

Inheritance Claims & Contested Estates, Probate, Probate & Estate Administration
12 Dangerous Stresses of Administering a Deceased Estate in SA

Sometimes the Executor of a Deceased Estate gets pressure from family and other beneficiaries to do questionable things in the administration of the Estate. 

Here are a few of the higher-risk demands frequently directed at nervous Executors by pushy relatives:

1. Obtain a Grant Of Probate As Quickly As Possible

Sometimes relatives and other potential beneficiaries might push an Executor to go faster than they should.  Almost always, those beneficiaries will have their own interests at heart, without necessarily considering your rights, duties and responsibilities as Executor, nor the other interests attaching to a Deceased Estate.  A prudent Executor might do well to remember the adage: Good. Fast. Cheap. Pick 2.

In South Australia, generally Probate cannot be applied for until at least 28 days after death.  In certain circumstances an urgent application can be made faster than this, however special reasons need to be proven.

Challenges to a Will or Estate in South Australia

Challenges to a Will or Estate in South Australia

Inheritance Claims & Contested Estates, Wills, Wills and Estate Planning
Challenges to a Will or Estate in South Australia

“You never know anybody until you’ve shared an inheritance with them”

Challenges to Wills are far less common than challenges to estates. A Will can be contested or challenged when it is alleged that :

The Will was executed under undue influence from others;

The Will was executed when the testator lacked capacity to understand what he/she was doing. This is increasingly common due to the rise of dementia in our ageing population;

weird probate Issues

Weird Probate Issues

Inheritance Claims & Contested Estates, Probate, Probate & Estate Administration, Weird Probate Issues
weird probate Issues

If you’ve been named the executor of a Will, you might experience a wide range of emotions upon your loved one’s passing.

In addition to going through the grieving process, you might feel overwhelmed by your responsibilities in carrying out the deceased’s wishes.

You may have even heard horror stories about probate that leave you wondering where to begin, but you can relax knowing that your specialist estate lawyer at Genders & Partners can help you navigate any obstacles you face regarding probate & deceased estates in Adelaide.

Critical Importance of Making a Will to Protect Children’s Inheritance From Previous Relationships

Critical Importance of Making a Will to Protect Children’s Inheritance From Previous Relationships

Blended Families and Divorce, Estate Planning, Inheritance Claims & Contested Estates, Trusts & Guardianship, Wills, Wills and Estate Planning, Young Children
Critical Importance of Making a Will to Protect Children From Previous Relationships

Blended families include children form previous relationships (step-children).  They are growing quickly in number, but many people do not stop and think about the implications on children from previous relationships if they die without a Will.  It is a dangerous assumption that the law will automatically protect your biological and step children, as numerous scenarios can preclude or reduce the amount that they receive after you die if you do not seek the counsel of an experienced Wills lawyer in Adelaide.

What Happens If You Die Without a Will?
South Australian law provides that, depending on the size of your estate, your children from previous relationships may receive nothing if you die intestate. For estates valued at less than $100,000, the entire estate goes to the surviving spouse or domestic partner unless a valid Will is in place. For larger estates, your spouse is entitled to the first $100,000, your personal belongings and half of the estate’s balance.  Without litigation, at best your children will receive equal shares of the remaining balance (if any).

Family Disputes and Legal Documents in SA

Family Disputes and Legal Documents in SA

Asset Protection, Deceased Estates, Inheritance Claims & Contested Estates, Probate, Special Needs, Trusts & Guardianship
Family Disputes and Legal Documents

Families aren’t always easy. We’re bound to them by blood and history, circumstance and duty. We love them, and sometimes, if we’re really lucky, we like them too. We rarely get to choose them.

At some point in our lives almost all of us will experience some challenging times in dealing with individuals in our family.

It could be the consequences of dealing with misfortune such as illness or unemployment.

It could be your son’s unfortunate choice of girlfriend.

Maybe someone has an inflated sense of entitlement & expectation, or is lacking in appreciation for what you’ve done for them.

7 Critical Mistakes Made by Parents of Special Needs Children

7 Critical Mistakes Made by Parents of Special Needs Children

Inheritance Claims & Contested Estates, Special Disability Trust, Trusts, Trusts & Guardianship
7 Critical Mistakes Made by Parents of Special Needs Children

Parents of a child with special needs face unique challenges when planning their estates, and unless they address them correctly, they risk making mistakes that could have long-term, costly consequences for their child.

For example, they may make the child ineligible for important federal government benefits once he or she becomes an adult, and they may leave their child without the financial resources he or she needs to live the same kind of life they provided when they were alive.

The mistakes that parents of a special needs child often make when they are planning their estates can have long-term negative consequences for the child and significantly impact his or her lifestyle once the parents are deceased or become incapacitated and can no longer look out for their special needs son or daughter.

what-happens-if-you-die-without-a-valid-will-after-separation-or-divorce-in-australia

What Happens if You Die Without a Valid Will After Separation or Divorce in Australia

Estate Planning, Inheritance Claims & Contested Estates, Wills and Estate Planning
what-happens-if-you-die-without-a-valid-will-after-separation-or-divorce-in-australia

When you are going through a separation, you need to update your estate planning documents to protect yourself, your children & family and your assets. Here are some important matters to consider after a relationship breakup.

Intestacy

  1. If you do not write a Will, the Government has already written one for you – but you might not like what it says.
  2. When you die without a valid Will, that is called ‘intestacy’. The law of the State where die will determine who gets what. Be careful. Not only does this law change from place to place, it also changes from time to time.
  3. In certain cases your assets might even go to the Government itself!

Probate and Estate Administration: Successful Challenge to Deceased Estate from Secret Domestic Partner

Deceased Estates, Inheritance Claims & Contested Estates, Probate, Probate & Estate Administration
Deceased Estate in SA

A recent court decision in Victoria (Estrella v McDonald) is one of Australia’s first reported judgments resolving a claim for family provision involving a same-sex relationship.

The claimant said that he and the deceased had been in a secret de-facto relationship for 30 years, after they met in 1978 when the claimant was 17 and the deceased was 51.

The claimant said that he and the deceased had commenced a sexual relationship and that he had moved away from his family in the Philippines to live with the deceased’s family for several years. During the deceased’s final years, the claimant was living overseas.

During his life, the deceased had denied that the relationship was sexual in nature as he had apparently been embarrassed to publicly or openly acknowledge the relationship, for fear that it may not be accepted by their families or community.

The deceased had made no provision for the claimant in his Will, which solely benefitted the deceased’s children who defended the claimant’s allegations on the basis that their father and the claimant were “just friends” and that the claimant lived in their home as a boarder.

Mediating Settlement of Estate Disputes

Mediating Settlement of Estate Disputes

Estate Planning, Inheritance Claims & Contested Estates, Wills, Wills and Estate Planning
Mediating Settlement of Estate Disputes sa

Like most developed countries, Australia’s population is ageing as a result of sustained low fertility and increasing life expectancy. This has resulted in proportionally fewer children in the population and a proportionally larger increase in those aged 65 and over.

Over the 20 years between 1994 and 2014, the proportion of the population aged 65 years and over increased from 11.8% to 14.7%. This group is projected to increase more rapidly over the next decade, as further cohorts of baby boomers turn 65.

In the 12 months to 30 June 2014, the number of people aged 65 years and over increased by 118,700 people, representing a 3.6% increase.

We are living longer and accumulating greater wealth.  This gives rise to the potential for more disputes arising on either incapacity or death.