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Article by Manny Wood published in the Coffs Coast News Of The Area on 16 May 2025. Betty appoints two of her daughters as her enduring guardians. The documentation is executed by Betty in the presence of a solicitor who witnesses her signature and explains the effect of the document to Betty. Her daughters later sign acceptances of their roles as guardians and again their signatures are witnessed by a solicitor. The effect of the guardianship is that if Betty becomes unable to make medical and lifestyle decisions for herself, her daughters will be empowered to do so on her behalf. Betty’s daughters are appointed “jointly and [...]

Article by Manny Wood published in the Coffs Coast News Of The Area on 9 May 2025. Greg passes-away and leaves his $1 million estate to his only surviving son, Craig. Greg’s only other son, died several years ago, leaving 4 children of his own, one of them being Peter. When Peter discovers that his grandfather had not included him in his will, he seeks legal advice and makes a “family provision” claim against Greg’s estate, in the Supreme Court. Peter has been unemployed for many years and has no substantial assets. His financial circumstances are such that he is able to demonstrate that he has sufficient [...]

Article by Manny Wood published in the Coffs Coast News Of The Area on 2 May 2025. Scott, battling cancer, has a prognosis of just 12 months to live. Scott calls his sister, Mary, and asks her to come and live with him as his full-time carer. He tells her that if she does so, he will give her half of his estate when he passes-away. Mary tells Scott that she will need time to consider his proposal. Scott considers it unlikely that Mary will accept his offer and changes his will, gifting the whole of his estate to charity. In the meantime, Mary makes plans to [...]

Article by Manny Wood published in the Coffs Coast News Of The Area on 25 April 2025. Penny is talking to her neighbour, Wendy on the nature strip in front of their properties. A dispute arises between them when Wendy claims that the nature strip is her property and Penny is not allowed to do any gardening on the strip. After a heated exchange, Penny inadvertently touches Wendy's hat, meaning to touch her shoulder, to indicate that the conversation had not ended. Without warning, Wendy swings a rubber mallet and deliberately strikes Penny on the side of the head. Penny is taken to hospital and Wendy is [...]

Article by Manny Wood published in the Coffs Coast News Of The Area on 18 April 2025. Frank and Betty have been in a de facto relationship for 20 years. Frank has three children as a result of a previous relationship. Frank seeks legal advice regarding his estate planning and in particular, how he can make a Will that “looks after” Betty, while preserving his estate for his three children. The solicitor advises Frank that he can make a Will which grants Betty the right to reside in his home and the right to relocate to alternate accommodation, if appropriate, under the authority of his executor. When [...]

Article by Manny Wood published in the Coffs Coast News Of The Area on 11 April 2025. This column takes a break from the usual “Hypothetical” formula to address the important issue of elder abuse. Elder abuse is an action or lack of action by someone in a relationship of trust that causes harm to an older person. Older persons are particularly vulnerable to abuse due to frequent declines in their physical health and cognition. Elder abuse can include neglect, financial abuse and domestic violence. Unfortunately, reported instances of elder abuse are increasing. The most common abusers are family members, friends and neighbours. Adult children, who are [...]

Article by Manny Wood published in the Coffs Coast News Of The Area on 4 April 2025. Betty makes a will, leaving her whole estate to her daughter. She decides not to include her son, Barry. When Betty passes-away, her estate is valued at around $400,000, consisting primarily of her principal place of residence, in which her daughter resides. Barry makes a “family provision” claim. Barry alleges that during his childhood, he was the victim of domestic violence. He says that as a result, he performed poorly at school and left before completing his school certificate. Barry says that he had a good relationship with his mother [...]

Article by Manny Wood published in the Coffs Coast News Of The Area on 28 March 2025. Christine has a relatively small budget, but as a first home buyer, she is looking to enter the real estate market. She finds a unit for sale in a strata scheme and negotiates a purchase price with the real estate agent, which is within her budget in light of her pre-approved finance. The real estate agent forwards a “sales advice” to Christine’s solicitor, who advises her to obtain a strata report before signing the contract for the purchase of the property. The strata report is prepared by an independent inspector [...]

Article by Manny Wood published in the Coffs Coast News Of The Area on 21 March 2025. Harry meets Mary online and they are soon engaged. When Mary comes to Australia, Harry asks her to sign a pre-nuptial agreement. The effect of the agreement is that if their relationship ended, Mary would receive nothing. Mary receives independent legal advice to the effect that the agreement was “entirely unfair” and she should not sign it. Nonetheless, Mary signs the agreement and the wedding proceeds just 10 days later. Unfortunately, 4 years later, Harry and Mary separate and a dispute arises in relation to the validity of the pre-nuptial [...]

Article by Manny Wood published in the Coffs Coast News Of The Area on 14 March 2025. Peter and Sally are engaged to be married. Sally moves into Peter’s home and contributes towards renovations to the property. They decide to purchase an investment property and the property is registered in joint names. There is no written agreement between them in relation to the purchase. Unfortunately Peter and Sally never marry, and 18 months after their relationship commenced, Peter and Sally separate and their relationship comes to an end. A dispute arises in relation to the investment property and Peter files a claim in the Supreme Court of [...]