Szabo & Associates News & Updates

For a person deciding on who should inherit from their Will, questions of how much beneficiaries will receive and in what shares are important. These decisions can be made more difficult if, for example, there are particular concerns about a beneficiary or a perceived need for encouragement to achieve something. As a consequence, the Will-maker may wish to make a bequest conditional.

An ‘Informal Will’ is one that has not been executed in accordance with the formal requirements for a Will to be accepted as legally valid. These formalities are:

While the majority of people are living longer these days, it does not follow that all are remaining fit, physically and mentally, to deal with their own legal and financial affairs.

The inheritance rights of a grandchild, in terms of contesting a Will by making a family provision claim, varies from state to state in Australia. As far as NSW is concerned, grandchildren may be eligible to claim some or additional provision from their grandparent’s estate if they can demonstrate sufficient dependency on the deceased grandparent at some stage during their life or had a close personal relationship.

Unconscionable conduct can be seen where a benefit is gained by one party through the deliberate exploitation of an imbalance of power relative to another party.  An example is when someone close to an elderly person with a mental disability, in the act of elder abuse, persuades the elderly person to transfer property to them.