Deceased Estates

Approval to Administer an Estate

When a person dies someone has to take care of that person’s estate. In most situations that person has to be appointed by the Supreme Court. Where there is a will, that is the person or people named as executor in the will. Where the person named as executor does not want to seek approval, or there is no will, it becomes more complicated.

Other issues may be: whether a document is sufficient to be the deceased’s will; the will might be missing; the will might have failed to deal with all of the property of the deceased.

If you are an executor or person otherwise entitled to apply to be appointed, you don’t need a lawyer - you can apply yourself. The Supreme Court website tells you how to do it. Better still, it has a Probate Wizard that will help you to do it.

You may not want to do it or, having started, hit a wall. I can help

Estate Issues

During the course of administering an estate there are various issues that can arise with which I can help, including death benefits (superannuation and life insurance), capital gains tax, GST, estate proceeds trusts, transfer of estate assets, appropriation of estate assets, taking of accounts and family arrangements.

Estate Disputes

The American author Ambrose Bierce is credited with saying:

Death is not the end. There remains the litigation over the estate.

Sadly, that can be true. There can arise such issues as: whether the deceased had capacity to make the will; whether the deceased was aware of the contents and effect of the will; whether the will was made by the deceased subject to duress or the influence of another.

Also, a person may consider that he or she had entitlements or greater entitlements from the estate of a deceased person. If the person had a particular relationship to the deceased (eg spouse or child and, in some circumstances, a step-child, grandchild or parent) then that person can claim an entitlement or greater entitlement from the estate if the person is able to persuade the court that the deceased’s estate does not make adequate provision for the person’s proper maintenance, support, education or advancement in life.