The will of Bart Cummings, a prominent horse trainer, is being contested by his three children and his wife. His two daughters are contesting it but the son wants to divide it according to the terms of the existing will, the Sydney Morning Herald reported. Discover how this case was suddenly halted and how Gerard Malouf & Partners’ contesting wills lawyers can help if you are a family member or another eligible person who would like to make a family provision claim.
A family’s battle over a father’s will
A court-ordered mediation between Cummings’ children and his wife failed to reconcile the family members’ fight over the huge estate.
The son, Anthony Cummings is taking action against his two sisters, Anne-Marie Casey and Sharon Robinson who are acting on behalf of their mother, Valmae Mary Cummings who is 87 and seriously ill. She is currently living on the family’s NSW property and was married to Cummings for 60 years.
The lawyer for the sisters, Anthea Kennedy, has told the court that she was urgently trying to secure a mediation date because of Valmae Cummings’ illness.
The three siblings have also joined forces to launch a lawsuit against the executor of the father’s estate, Aaron Randell, an Emerson Randell Young financial and accounting planning partner.
All of these proceedings have been set back by the Melbourne Cup as Anthony Cummings is also a successful horse trainer, the Australian explained. His lawyer stated that his client had commitments for the Melbourne Cup.
Make a family provision claim
If you are an “eligible person” under the law to apply for a family provision claim, Gerard Malouf & Partners can help.
An “eligible person” can be the following people, according to the NSW Government’s Find Legal Answers website:
- The wife or husband of the deceased at the time of their death
- A person who had a de facto relationship with the deceased at the time of their death (this includes same sex partners)
- A person living in a close personal relationship with the deceased at the time of death
- A person who was partly or wholly dependent on deceased person or in the same household as the deceased
- A wholly or partly dependent grandchild of the deceased
If you qualify as an eligible person in any of the above ways and feel unfairly treated in a will or want to protect yourself against legal challenges, contact us today and we will be happy to assist.
