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Hypothetical by Manny Wood published in the Coffs Coast News Of The Area on 6 August 2021. David has been living with his de facto wife for 10 years. He has two daughters to a previous relationship and his partner has three daughters of her own. As part of his estate planning, David executes a non-binding death benefit nomination, leaving the whole of his superannuation to his two daughters equally. When David unexpectedly passes away, the superfund writes to all of the parties, informing them that because the nomination was “non-binding”, the fund will decide on how the superannuation is to be divided and asks them to [...]

Hypothetical by Manny Wood published in the Coffs Coast News Of The Area on 30 July 2021. Penny, in her 80’s, has no children of her own. She is assisted with her housework, laundry and shopping by her niece, Diane. Penny tells Diane that she needs to go into a nursing home and asks her to arrange for the sale of her home. Penny signs an Authorisation to pay the whole of the proceeds of sale to Diane, which Diane delivers to the solicitor acting on the sale of the home. In accordance with the Authorisation, at settlement $500,000 is deposited into Diane’s account. Diane pays Penny [...]

Hypothetical by Manny Wood published in the Coffs Coast News Of The Area on 23 July 2021. Lucy and George were recently engaged to be married and began looking for their first home. They soon purchased a duplex in a small strata complex, consisting of just two lots. The duplexes shared a main wall and the common property consisted of a small garden shed, a driveway, a courtyard and a grassed area. Prior to exchanging contracts Lucy and George were informed that the vendor was unable to provide records of strata management meetings and a capital works fund was never established. The owners did however share payment [...]

Hypothetical by Manny Wood published in the Coffs Coast News Of The Area on 16 July 2021. David and his first wife migrate to Sydney with their children in the 1970s. David is poorly educated and has a very limited grasp of the English language. When David’s first wife passes-away in 2012, Penny moves into his home. One year later, David and Penny are married and a short time later, David transfers the matrimonial home into their joint names. David also appoints Penny as his Power of Attorney. In 2015, David and Penny separate and the house is transferred into Penny’s name, pursuant to a Binding Financial [...]

Hypothetical by Manny Wood published in the Coffs Coast News Of The Area on 9 July 2021. In his early sixties, Frank is diagnosed with a relatively aggressive form of early onset dementia. Aware that he is not well, he asks two of his children, Pat and Betty to help him organise his affairs. Pat and Betty are concerned that Frank does not possess the requisite capacity to make a will and they ask him if he already has one.  Frank cannot remember. Worried about Frank’s deteriorating condition Pat and Betty book an appointment with a solicitor who specialises in estate planning. The solicitor advises that a [...]

Hypothetical by Manny Wood published in the Coffs Coast News Of The Area on 2 July 2021. Sally and William have been married for 30 years. They own their matrimonial home jointly. At the age of 75, William is diagnosed with dementia and soon loses the ability to manage his affairs. Unfortunately, William had not executed a power of attorney or an appointment of enduring guardian, so Sally makes an application to the Guardianship Division of NCAT, seeking orders granting her the power to manage her husband’s affairs. Sally is appointed as William’s guardian, giving her the power to make arrangements for William to obtain a placement [...]

Hypothetical by Manny Wood published in the Coffs Coast News Of The Area on 25 June 2021. Joan was married to Patrick for 15 years. Joan has three children to a previous marriage, being Brian, Angus and Julie. When Joan began developing early signs of dementia, Joan and Patrick appointed each other as their enduring power of attorney. The usual provisions of their power of attorney allowed the spouse to “confer benefits” on him or herself. As Joan’s condition deteriorated, she told Patrick to “enjoy himself” as she knew his life would be centred around caring for her. It was not long before Patrick took over Joan’s [...]

Hypothetical by Manny Wood published in the Coffs Coast News Of The Area on 18 June 2021. Robert owns a property that shares a common boundary with a property owned by Andrew. Andrew’s property is burdened by a right-of-way which was established to enable access for a night soil carter to collect waste from outhouses many years ago. The right-of-way is no longer able to be used due to various fences that have been erected over the years. In 2005, Robert undertook renovations on his property and erected a fence, incorporating the right-of-way into his backyard and closing-off access to Andrew. He erects a barbecue area on [...]

Hypothetical by Manny Wood published in the Coffs Coast News Of The Area on 11 June 2021. Ray and his wife adopt a child named Edward, who is 6 months old. When Edward is 14 years old, Ray and his wife separate. Ray’s relationship with Edward diminishes from minimal to non-existent contact until Ray passes away, 30 years later. Edward discovers that Ray made a Will, leaving the whole of his estate to charity. Ray’s estate is valued at $600,000. Edward makes a family provision claim against Ray’s estate, seeking half of Ray’s estate. The Court notes that an adopted child is eligible to make a claim. [...]

Hypothetical by Manny Wood published in the Coffs Coast News Of The Area on 4 June 2021. Scott makes a home-made will, leaving his $3 million estate to his closest blood relatives, being his two nieces. The will is not witnessed. When Scott passes away shortly thereafter, Harry makes a claim against Scott state, alleging that he had a secret same-sex relationship with Scott for 10 years and that the home-made will is not valid. Scott’s estate makes a cross-claim against Harry, alleging that he transferred funds from Scott’s bank accounts to himself, shortly before Scott’s passing. In support of Harry’s claim that there was a de [...]