A woman has received $120,000 after successfully contesting the will of her late step-father. Our client, a loving step-daughter was left stunned when she realised that her step-father’s entire estate was left to her sister, who was also not their step-father’s biological child.
She had a close relationship with her step-father and lived with him until she was 32. During the course of time spent living with him, she contributed financially for the house expenses weekly. On top of her financial contributions, she also cooked, cleaned and shopped for her step-father, eventually undertaking all the duties her late mother had carried out.
After her father fell seriously ill he was moved into a nursing home where she visited him once a week and the last time she saw him was the night he passed away. Our client was emotionally dependent on her step-father till the day he passed away.
Following the passing of her late step-father, our client approached Gerard Malouf and Partners seeking advice on how to contest her late step-father’s will. Following this initial free consultation, investigations were performed regarding her eligibility to contest the will and her future needs. She currently has little to no cash reserves because both she and her husband are only able to work 15 hours a week and both have little superannuation. One of her children has developed asthma and allergies and her husband has health problems which are expected to cause further deterioration of his health in the future.
After our client sought advice from GMP Contesting a Will Lawyers on how to challenge the will, she instructed us to resolve the matter without incurring excessive legal fees due to her current financial position.
With the enlisting of a barrister, Gerard Malouf and Partners Expert Lawyers were able to successfully contest the will during mediation resulting in our client being awarded $120,000, inclusive of all costs. Our client was extremely happy with the outcome as it will make planning her future easier. This was a particularly good outcome due to the fact that the settlement was not drawn out over a long period of time and legal fees were kept minimal.
If you are an adult step-child and have been left out of a will contact Gerard Malouf and Partners regarding information on how to make a family provision claim.
