Walker v Leneve [2025] NSWSC 839 (Slattery J) involves a conflict. This conflict is between the intestate deceased’s mother and the deceased’s daughter (and sole heir). The mother organised the deceased’s funeral and burial before DNA proved paternity. The mother
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.
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Law Firm Partner Appointed as Executor – void for uncertainty?
In the ACT, a solicitor appointed as executor must provide the testator with a written disclosure of any entitlement to fees or commission before the Will is signed, under the Australian Solicitors’ Conduct Rules (ASCR). A solicitor’s written disclosure ensures…
Resealing a Foreign Grant in Queensland.
As the executor or administrator of an estate with a grant of probate or administration issued in another jurisdiction, if the deceased left assets in Queensland, an executor may need to apply to the Supreme Court of Queensland to “reseal”…
Guardianship Rights in Western Australia Estate Cases
Matthew Sims (the deceased) died intestate on 22 May 2024, leaving three children: Molly (17), Thomas (16), and Sebastian (12). Molly and Thomas’s mother, Rebecca Moylan (the plaintiff), was previously in a de facto relationship with the deceased, which ended…
Family Provision & Notional Estate
In some family provision matters, the estate’s assets are insufficient to meet the Court’s assessment for further provision. In such instances, in New South Wales, the Succession Act 2006 (NSW) allows the court to issue an order designating specific property…
Passing Over a Later Will: When Probate Turns to an Earlier Testamentary Document
In the estate of Ian Robert McPherson [2025] ACTSC 33, Elizabeth Ann Mulcahy (the plaintiff) applied. She sought the grant of probate for a Will dated 14 February 2024. She applied to the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory…
Interlocutory injunction & property liable to be designated as notional estate
A family provision order is a court order made under Chapter 3 of the Succession Act 2006 (NSW) directing that provision be made from a deceased person’s estate, or notional estate, for the maintenance, education, or advancement in life of…
Promises, Wills, and White Elephants
In Macaulay v Macaulay [2024] NSWSC 1547, the parties are the children of the late Neil Macaulay. He passed away in 2021. They are also the children of the late Janet Macaulay, who passed away in 2012. The plaintiff is…
Construction of Wills – Will Kits
Construction means working out the true meaning of a written instrument. In the context of Wills, the purpose is to guarantee that the will-maker’s intentions are fulfilled.
The fundamental task in construing a Will is to determine, by reference to…
In the Estate of Allen Sidney Alcock [2025] ACTSC 351
Rectification of Wills – Key Principles
Section 12A of the Wills Act 1968 (ACT) empowers the Supreme Court to rectify the probate copy of a Will where:
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