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Hypotheticals by Manny Wood. Published in the Coffs Coast Advocate on 1 September 2018. Robert dies leaving few assets other than a substantial amount in his superannuation fund which has death benefit insurance of $600,000. Robert had prepared a will leaving all of his superannuation fund to one of his sons, Luke.  He left nothing to his son, Jason who he was estranged from as a result of continued abuse and assaults from Jason over a number of years. Robert had also made a non-binding death benefit nomination for his superannuation funds to be paid to his legal personal representative with the intention that it is paid [...]

Hypotheticals by Manny Wood. Published in the Coffs Coast Advocate on 25 August 2018. Nina dies at the age of 92 leaving no biological children but leaving two adopted children, Jim and Jane. Nina adopted Jim and Jane shortly after their birth and they lived together during the whole of their childhood. Under her will, Nina leaves Jane 15% of her estate, Jim 10% and the rest to Jane and Jim’s children. The estate is worth $600,000. […]

Hypotheticals by Manny Wood. Published in the Coffs Coast Advocate on 11 August 2018. Susan and Gordon have been in a relationship for 20 years. Susan has two children to a previous relationship. When Susan dies, her will makes provision for Gordon by way of an indexed annuity of $52,000 per year. This means that Susan’s executors must pay Gordon one thousand dollars per week for the rest of his lifetime. This amount is adjusted in-line with CPI. […]

Hypotheticals by Manny Wood. Published in the Coffs Coast Advocate on 4 August 2018. Alan dies at the age of 50. He had not made a will. Alan was survived by his second wife, Susan and two minor children to a previous relationship. Because Alan did not have a will, his estate was to be distributed under the laws of intestacy and given that his estate has a value of $430,000, Susan is entitled to the whole of the estate and Alan’s children receive nothing. Alan’s children commence proceedings, seeking provision from their father’s estate. […]

Hypotheticals by Manny Wood. Published in the Coffs Coast Advocate on 28 July 2018. Jill dies without making a will. Her estate includes a house and a substantial bank account. David makes an application for a grant of letters of administration on the basis that he was Jill’s de facto spouse and that he is entitled to the whole of her estate. The probate Registry refuses David’s application on the basis that his affidavit evidence does not “go far enough” to establish the existence of a de facto relationship. David applies to the Supreme Court for a review of the Registrar’s decision. […]

Hypotheticals by Manny Wood. Published in the Coffs Coast Advocate on 21 July 2018. Gordon, a motor vehicle mechanic, trips over his toolbox in the workshop and sustains a serious injury to his back. The incident occurred in 2013. Unfortunately, Gordon was unable to return to any type of work and underwent a total of three major spinal operations. A workers compensation claim was made with the employer’s insurer relating to Gordon’s inability to work and he received weekly payments. These payments were initially 90% of his average weekly earnings but these payments were reduced to 80% after 13 weeks. […]

Hypotheticals by Manny Wood. Published in the Coffs Coast Advocate on 14 July 2018. Margaret’s daughter, Penny is getting married to Chris. Margaret gives them a unit that she had been using as an investment property as a wedding gift. The property is transferred into Penny and Chris’ names jointly and Margaret pays the stamp duty. Tragically, during Penny and Chris’ honeymoon, they are involved in a car accident and they are both killed. Penny was 30 years old and Chris was 28 years old when they died. They did not have any children and they had not executed wills. […]

Hypotheticals by Manny Wood. Published in the Coffs Coast Advocate on 7 July 2018. In December 2017, Jason is involved in a motor vehicle accident. He sustains soft tissue injuries his neck and lower back and an injury to his left knee resulting in a total medial meniscectomy. The accident was caused by the fault of the other driver. Jason sees his solicitor just prior to Christmas 2017. He is advised that he needs to lodge an application for personal injury benefits within three months of the date of the accident and to receive weekly benefits from the date of the accident, he needs to lodge his [...]

Hypotheticals by Manny Wood. Published in the Coffs Coast Advocate on 30 June 2018. Paul and Jane were married a few years ago. When the couple are visiting their friend’s farm, Jane is tragically involved in an accident involving a quad bike. Jane is 30 years old at the time. When Jane arrives at a Sydney hospital, she is unresponsive and sedated. She is diagnosed as suffering from a severe brain injury and the surgeons, neurosurgeons and orthopaedic surgeons agree that Jane is in fact brain dead. […]