Estate Litigation

Challenging a Will of a deceased Estate begins with identifying your relationship to the deceased. If you are the deceased’s spouse, de facto, child (including stepchild) or dependent, then you may be entitled to challenge the Will. By law, making a family provision application against a deceased Estate can include the deceased’s: Spouse (including de … Read more

The distinction between what constitutes a Will and what does not can often be vague and ambiguous. In the UK 1926 case, Hodson v Barnes, a seaman etched his final wishes onto an eggshell. The inscription read: “Mag. Everything I possess. J.B.” [1] (Mag was the name of the seaman’s wife). Should an eggshell be … Read more

Case Note: Mortimer v Lusink & Ors [2017] QCA 1 Facts This is an estate litigation case. Loma Green passed away on 2 July 2015. Under her will she specifically gifted $20,000 to her daughter, Anita Mortimer, and $50,000 to her friend. The remainder of Ms Green’s estate was left to her son, Christopher Lusink, … Read more

Case Note: Croft v Sanders [2019] NSWCA 303 (This article is part of our Deceased Estate and Will disputes Series) The Facts This New South Wales Court of Appeal case involved two appellants who were two of the six daughters of the late Warwick Croft, who passed away in 2016. The daughters were appealing the … Read more

Case note: Budulica v Budulica [2017] QSC 60 Facts Mrs Budulica sadly passed away. In her Will she left the whole of her estate on trust in equal shares to her two children, Stan and Sylvia. Her estate largely comprised of two properties situated at Bulimba and Hawthorne. The Bulimba property was improved by a … Read more