Published in the Coffs Coast Advocate on 7 March 2015 John and Jane have been married for 30 years. They have three children together. John makes a will, leaving Jane a lump sum of $500,000 together with his “personal effects”. He leaves the rest (or “residue”) of his estate to his three children equally. […]
Published in the Coffs Coast Advocate on 1 March 2015 Jim and Jane have been married for more than 50 years. They are both in their 80s and Jane has recently been admitted into a nursing home after being diagnosed with dementia. Jim still resides in their matrimonial home but now also requires the care that a nursing home can provide. […]
Published in the Coffs Coast Advocate on 21 February 2015 Jim and Joy have been married for 25 years. They own their home in Coffs Harbour jointly. Their home is no longer mortgaged and is worth $700,000. They have $300,000 in a joint bank account and no other assets of any significant value. Jim migrated from Europe many years ago and now that he is over 65, he receives an overseas pension in addition to a part Australian Age Pension. […]
Published in the Coffs Cost Advocate on 14 February 2015 Joy and John have lived together in a de facto relationship for more than 20 years. John has made a will, appointing his daughter from a previous relationship, Judy as his executor. John’s will leaves his motor vehicle, his household belongings and the sum of $50,000 to Joy. The will also grants Joy the right to reside in John’s home and sets aside a further $20,000 to pay for rates, insurance and the costs of keeping the home in reasonable repair. […]
Published in The Coffs Coast Advocate on 31 January 2015. Jane’s son Jim has had a drug problem for many years and his addiction has become worse since the death of Jane’s husband and Jim’s father, Roy. After Roy’s death, Jane talks to her friend about making a new will and leaving Jim out. Her friend advises Jane that if she leaves Jim one dollar, he cannot challenge the will. Jane goes ahead and makes a “home-made will” that leaves Jim just one dollar and leaves the rest of her estate to Jim’s four children equally. […]
Published in the Coffs Coast Advocate on 17 January 2015 James, his wife and children live in Coffs Harbour, having relocated from Sydney several years ago. James’ mother, Mary has visited Coffs Harbour a number of times, including staying with James during the recent Christmas break. Mary was widowed a couple of years ago and is finding it difficult to maintain her home in Sydney. She also wishes to spend more time with James and her grandchildren. […]
Published in the Coffs Coast Advocate on 10 January 2015. Joseph runs a small business through a family trust which was established by his accountant many years ago. Joseph is not quite sure how the trust works and is concerned about whether the business could continue to operate when he dies or if he were to become incapacitated. The trust is what is known as a discretionary trust and is fairly common. The trust allows the trustee to distribute business profits to Joseph, his wife, their children and a broad range of other related beneficiaries at the sole discretion of the trustee. […]
Published in the Coffs Coast Advocate on 13 December 2014. John and David, both in their 50’s, are avid cyclists. They are good friends and work colleagues. They live close to each other and will often go riding together. Nearby, there is a dedicated cycling track that runs parallel to a busy road. […]
Published in the Coffs Coast Advocate on 6 November 2014 Thomas, in his late 50’s, works as a sawyer in a local saw mill. Unfortunately, Thomas has an accident at work whereby he suffers an injury to his lower back. The injury prevents him from working. Thomas has worked in the saw mill industry his entire life and he has no other skills that would allow him to take on a “light duties” role. […]
Published in the Coffs Coast Advocate on 29 November 2014. When Peter and Kim were in their early 40s, their 15 year relationship broke down and they separated. They negotiated a property settlement and consent orders were made under the Family Law Act. The agreement between them was that Peter would pay Kim the sum of $72,000 which consisted of half the value of his superannuation fund and half the equity in their home. The parties had no other assets of any significant value. […]