Wills and Estates Newsletter – October 2024
Published on October 15, 2024 by Rebecca Tidswell and Adelaide Ryan
Welcome to the October 2024 edition of our Wills and Estates Newsletter. In our last edition, we examined how to best prepare a Will so as to avoid potential family provision claims cases dealing with the impact of a testamentary statement upon a family provision claim impacts a foreign beneficiary under a will to inherit Australian land.
In this edition, our team reports on the following topics:
- “Doctor, Doctor, I need to write a new Will” – case note
- Do I have to make a new will when I get married or will my old one suffice?
- What are the top 5 issues facing blended or stepfamilies in regards to estate planning?
We trust you will enjoy the read!
Carroll & O’Dea Lawyers’ Wills & Estates Team.
“Doctor, Doctor, I need to write a new Will”
In May 2023 Henry J ordered that letters of administration of the will of Raymond McClure dated 10 July 2017 be granted to Dr Peter Alexakis. Causing controversy was the fact that this will left the majority of the estate, worth around $27M, to Mr McClure’s treating doctor.
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Rebecca Tidswell, Special Counsel
Do I have to make a new will when I get married or will my old one suffice?
The Marriage Act 1961 (Cth) defines marriage as “the union of two people to the exclusion of all others, voluntarily entered into for life”. If you recently got married, congratulations! What happens next? You or your celebrant may have applied for a marriage certificate from the registry of births, deaths and marriages in the state or territory where you were married. A marriage certificate issued by the registry is the legal proof of your spouse.
Making a new will when you get married is probably the last thing on the to-do wedding list. While this task may seem arduous, it is such an important task to carry out. Getting married can impact on your existing will if it has been poorly drafted. Getting married can also dictate who are the persons entitled to the distribution of your estate if there is no will in place. Each scenario can turn into a complicated mess for your spouse to navigate, particularly at a time when they may grieve from the loss of their spouse due to death.
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Adelaide Ryan, Special Counsel
What are the top 5 issues facing blended or stepfamilies in regard to estate planning?
According to the project on “Family Trends & Transitions” published by Australian Government, Australian Institute of Family Studies in August 2023, families were described as couple-parent or one-parent families. Within couple-parent families, there are different types of families such as intact families, stepfamilies or blended families. The Australian Bureau of Statistics defines a blended family as a couple family with at least one natural or adopted child of both partners and at least one step-child of either partner. A step-family is defined as a couple family with at least one step-child of either partner in the couple and without any natural or adopted children of both partners. This can create difficult estate planning considerations for blended or stepfamilies.
