Did you know that you only have 12 months from the date of a deceased person’s death to challenge their Will?
This type of action is known as a claim for “family provision”, colloquially known as “contesting a Will”.
Here are some other things you might not know about challenging a person’s Will:
- You must be an “eligible person” such as the spouse, defacto, child or dependent of the deceased in order to make a claim.
- The Court will take into account things like your financial means/assets and liabilities, your relationship with the deceased person, any gifts you received from the deceased person during your lifetime, and any contribution made by you to the deceased person’s Estate in determining your matter.
- You can make a claim against a person’s Estate even if you have been left something. Being provided with a gift under a person’s Will does not stop you from making a claim for further provision, so long as you can demonstrate that you are in financial need, and that you satisfy the other requirements of the law in making this type of claim.
- As an Executor of a Will, it is your job to defend any claims against a deceased person’s Estate. This means that if you are an Executor, you will be named as the defendant in any of these types of proceedings.
- All of these types of matters are conducted in the Supreme Court of NSW, the highest Court in the State.
- There are a number of legal landmines that need to be navigated, whether you are a plaintiff making a claim against an Estate, or an Executor defending a claim against an Estate.
We have extensive experience in Estate litigation and would be happy to sit down with you and discuss your options free of charge if you think you might be eligible to make a claim, or if you are an Executor defending a claim against an Estate.
Call us today on 4704 9991 or email info@completelaw.com.au to set up an appointment.
