Navigating the court system without legal representation can be daunting. It is especially challenging when finances or circumstances limit your access to professional help. In New South Wales, the courts have a specific mechanism to support self-represented litigants. This mechanism
HEIRS & SUCCESSES
Heirs & Successes, published by A&A, focuses on succession law and estate administration issues primarily within New South Wales, Australia. The blog covers topics such as interim distributions of estate assets, family provision claims, trust arrangements under the Succession Act, challenges related to informal wills and lost wills, and court procedures in probate disputes. It discusses practical legal questions about executors' powers, beneficiary rights, and court interventions in estate matters. The blog also addresses procedural rules affecting estate litigation, including summary judgment applications and court directions to manage probate cases. It provides case law analysis and commentary on statutory provisions relevant to wills, trusts, and estate disputes.
Latest from HEIRS & SUCCESSES - Page 7
Cultural and Legal Factors in Burial Arrangements in NSW
The Court retains an inherent jurisdiction to make decisions about the burial of a deceased person. This applies even where no grant of probate or administration has been issued. (Dayman v Dayman [2024] NSWSC 838 [24]); Brown v Weidig [2023]…
Key Legal Principles on Missing Persons and Estate Distribution
In New South Wales, the law recognises a presumption of death. This applies when a person has been missing for seven years without any contact. There must be no trace, unless there is evidence suggesting otherwise. In such circumstances, s…
Construing a Will that includes an Inter Vivos Distribution
Justice Isaacs (as he then was) explained the now well-established principles governing the interpretation of Wills in Fell v Fell (1922) 31 CLR 268 at 273–274. In determining the meaning of a Will from its own wording, assisted only by…
Too Late or Just in Time? What the Court Considers When a Defendant Fails to Appear and a De Facto Brings a Late Family Provision Claim
Equitable presumptions
Equity generally assumes that people do not intend to make gifts when contributing money towards the purchase of property. Accordingly, if A buys property but registers it in B’s name, equity presumes that B holds the property on…
“Anne, Spelled with an E”: Family, Names, and the 2024 Family Provision Practice Note
Introduction: Family, Identity, and Accuracy
In a recent New South Wales Supreme Court decision, Meek J opened with a literary nod to L.M. Montgomery’s classic Anne of Green Gables. The story, he observed, captures both the diversity of family and…
Student A by his tutor Peter Johnston v Council of Newington College [2025] NSWCA 230
On 14 October 2025, the Court heard an appeal from a decision of Parker J. He found that the term “youth” in a 1873 trust deed establishing Newington College was gender-neutral. It did not need the school to admit only…
No Undue Influence Found: Rowe v Van Den Ende [2025] NSWSC 1183 & Fairness in Property Transfers
Unconscionable conduct and undue influence are equitable doctrines addressing unfair advantage in relationships of unequal power. Unconscionable conduct focuses on a stronger party exploiting another’s special disadvantage – involving age, illness, poverty, or dependence. Undue influence relates to the weaker…
Family Provision – Adult Son’s Claim from Mother’s Estate Involving Real Property Left to Brother who Died Intestate
The Court’s method for determining whether a Will made adequate provision was summarised by Meagher JA (with Ward P and Kirk JA agreeing) in Scott v Scott [2022] NSWCA 182 at [12]–[16]:
Section 59(1)(c) of the Succession Act 2006 (NSW)…
Family provision claim by brother of the deceased
Section 57 of the Succession Act 2006 (NSW) provides that a person may bring a claim if they were a member of the deceased’s household and were wholly or partly dependent on the deceased at any time.
Household membership: The…