Contesting Wills Case Studies

Joseph Saliba & Anor v Thomas Tarmo [2009] NSWSC 581 (reported)
Our client’s were close family friends and carers of the deceased.  They looked after the deceased when her husband died and later became the fund managers and trustees of the financial affairs as appointed by the Guardianship Tribunal.

W v G
Our client was the illegitimate daughter of the deceased.  The deceased died without leaving a Will and in these circumstances the law that would generally apply is that the wife gets $200,000.00 plus 50% of the remainder of the Estate, the other 50% is to be divided between any children of the deceased.  In the circumstance the deceased left a wife and 3 daughters, our client being one of them.

B v R
Our client in 2007 was not properly provided for under the Will of her late mother who died on 16 May 2007. She was unfairly dealt with in terms of the distribution of the assets of the Will, in that her only other surviving sister was provided with 90% of the estate, our client 5% only, and our client�s daughter 5%. It was our client�s honest belief that she should have been entitled to a 45% apportion to her, 5% to her daughter and the remaining 50% to her sister.

Following advice sought from one of our exceptional barristers Mr Phillip Bates, and discussions between the defendant, ourselves and the client, our goal was achieved. It was agreed that the estate is to be divided as follows; 50% to the sister defendant, 45% to our client, and 5% to our client�s daughter. The matter settled with our client receiving in her hand in excess of $100,000.00.

A v B
Our client in 2006 was not properly provided for under the Will of her late mother who died on 21 August 2006. This matter was a Queensland claim we commenced proceedings in the Supreme Court of Queensland as required on behalf of the client. Prior to her mother�s death, our client at all times maintained a strong relationship with her mother, and contributed to the estate in question. From the age of three, our client was involved in the maintenance of the family farming business and was never paid for her services. At the time of her claim, she was in receipt of a Single Aged Pension from Centrelink, receiving approximately $500.00 in her pocket per fortnight. Our client was also suffering from medical problems, and would be likely to require constant future medical treatment.

Proceedings commenced seeking from the court orders for personal provision regarding the estate, that the estate pay a settlement sum to bring the home and property of the Will up to a reasonable standard of repair, to cover the ongoing costs and expense of reasonable ongoing maintenance of that property, and to cover the ongoing expense of rates and taxes levied on the said property during the client�s lifetime. After much deliberation with the defendants and our exceptional barrister Mr Phillip Bates in the matter, settlement was reached with our happy client receiving in her hand in excess of $300,000.00.

C v W
Our client and two of her siblings in 2006 sought our help in a contested Wills matter made by their father. Rather interestingly, our client�s father actually left the entire former family home, whereby three of his children all grew up in, to charity, specifically the Salvation Army and the Breast Cancer Foundation. Our client had no problem with such charity groups receiving a portion of her father�s Estate, but was not minded to the whole of the Estate being given up for charity purposes.

With the services of our expedient barrister Mr Khan, proceedings were instigated in the Supreme Court for us to fight for our client�s rights under the Will in support of a Family Provisions Claim. Mediation was exercised halfway through the proceedings and after much deliberation, we entrusted settlement monies to our client in excess of $300,000.00. Such monies were divided in equal shares amongst our client and her siblings, whom were all extremely pleased with the outcome. We are Gerard Malouf and Partners are always happy to explore the prospects of mediation so as to ensure our client settles the matter rather quickly and more cost effectively.

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