Szabo & Associates News & Updates

The digital age has given has created an entirely new set of complications to the interpretation of Wills - Wills composed on computers, smartphones and webcams are now being accepted by courts as valid documents.

We're not referring to the internal conflict Gillian Flynn may be going through while she rewrites Hamlet as part of the Hogarth Shakespeare project. No, here we're looking at the New South Wales Supreme Court's judgment earlier this year (19th May 2014) on the conflict between upholding the wishes of the deceased and the rights of the family left behind under the Succession Act 2006 (NSW).

A judge in South Carolina ordered the state's attorney general to turn over records relating to the estate of soul singer James Brown to a freelance journalist investigating the court dispute over the estate.

Appointing an Enduring Guardian can help prepare you and your family for sudden changes in circumstance. It is helpful for everybody to know who is entitled to make important decisions on your behalf when you are no longer able to make them for yourself. It is also useful for your family to know what you might have wanted in a range of common situations.

Last week we published the first blog in a two part series, which focuses on contesting a will in New South Wales. We explained that whilst actually contesting a will in Australia is not difficult, two recent NSW court decisions indicate that doing so successfully is much more so.