Wills & Estates Lawyers

The importance of drafting your Will and planning your estate cannot be overestimated. Whether your affairs are straight forward, you have a blended family or complex financial affairs drafting a Will requires proper consideration of a number of matters unique to your own circumstances.

Your Will and planning of your estate should be re-evaluated regularly and especially following any change in your circumstances. This will ensure that the distribution and / or administration of your estate and financial affairs occurs in accordance with your wishes. Re-evaluation is particularly important following a breakdown in relationship, divorce, property settlement or the forming of a new relationship.

For more information about drafting your Will and planning your estate contact our
will lawyers to arrange an appointment with one of our qualified lawyers to discuss your specific needs.

Your Will is an important part of the estate planning exercise. It is important that your Will is well drafted, properly executed and regularly reviewed. In addition to a well drafted and properly executed Will you should also secure a Power of Attorney and Guardianship so that in the event of your own incapacity your financial and medical affairs are cared for by a person you know and trust.

The NSW Trustee and Guardian recommends against preparing your own will. In order to be legally valid a will must meet a number of legal requirements. As with a lot of legal documents, the precise wording of a will is a specialised and important task with the ordinary meaning of words is not necessarily the same as their legal meaning or interpretation.

If for whatever reason your will is found to be invalid by the courts your assets will be distributed using a pre-determined formula and not according to your wishes.

Studies show that at least 45% of Australian’s do not have a valid will. If you die without a valid will you are regarded as having died in intestate, meaning no one knows your wishes or who you wanted as your beneficiaries and/or executor.

Your assets will then be divided using a pre-determined formula with certain family members receiving a defined percentage of the assets despite what you may have wanted.

This can result in your surviving spouse, family and friends suffering unnecessary financial hardship and emotional stress.

You should review your will on a regular basis every five years as naturally circumstances change.

Notwithstanding this, you should change your will after a life changing event for instance, marriage, divorce, birth of further children or the introduction of a person who you would want to benefit or remove from the estate.

The loss of a loved one is a difficult time and there are many things that you will wish to focus on including first and foremost your family. The last thing you will want to do during this period of time is deal with issues of probate or administration. Where a valid Will is in place, probate may be a straight forward process, but if there is no Will, administration of the estate may become more complex and time consuming.

Contact us and we will help you to obtain either a grant of probate or a grant of Letters of Administration allowing your focus to be with your family during this difficult time.

A Will may be challenged, or a claim may be made against an estate if, for example, the deceased was not of sound mind when the Will was made or if an eligible person has been either left out or not adequately provided for in the Will.

Only an eligible person who has been left out of the Will or been left with inadequate provision in the Will is able to make a claim against the provisions of the Will. Eligible persons include a spouse or de-facto partner, a child, or other certain categories of dependents of the deceased.

Any challenge or claim against the estate must be made within twelve months of the date of death. Therefore, if you think you may be entitled to challenge a Will or claim against an estate you should seek legal advice as soon as possible.

Contact us to arrange an appointment with one of our qualified Lawyers to discuss your circumstances and assess whether you are eligible and entitled to make a claim.

As Executor of a Will you have a duty to uphold the testator’s wishes. When the Will is challenged, or a claim is made against the Estate part of this duty requires that you act reasonably. This includes, where appropriate, seeking to negotiate and compromise with a claimant who may make a claim, for example, pursuant to family provision legislation.

Contact our team at Catron Simmons Lawyers to arrange an appointment with one of our qualified Lawyers. We will ensure that you understand the process so you can make well informed decisions and to fulfil your duties as Executor.