Estate Planning, Deceased Estates and Estate Disputes

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INHERITANCE AND FAMILY LAW

Often parties to a marriage or de facto relationship will receive an inheritance during the course of marriage or relationship, or following separation but prior to the parties completing a property settlement. In many instances the party receiving the inheritance will seek to quarantine the inheritance from the pool of assets subject to the property […]

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DISINHERITED AND DISAPPOINTED? ESTATE CLAIMS BY ADULT CHILDREN

What does the Supreme Court consider when an adult makes a claim for family provision from their parent’s estate where they have either been excluded from a Will, or left what they consider to be an inadequate inheritance? In any family provision claim, the role of the Court is not to achieve overall fairness in

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The $25m “little more than a rounding error” award – The Court’s approach to Family Provision claims against large estates

Last year, the Supreme Court of Western Australia awarded Olivia Mead, the 19 year old daughter of an iron ore magnate, the late Michael Wright, the astonishing cash sum of $25 million. The decision is currently under appeal and is likely to be heard by the Court of Appeal in early 2017. Ms Mead made

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The use of Testamentary Trusts in Estate Planning

A ‘Testamentary Trust’ is a trust established under a Will which only comes into existence after the death of the will maker. A testamentary trust is usually a discretionary trust which means that the Trustee has full discretion as to which beneficiaries receive income and/or capital from the trust and how much. The Trustee of

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