Is it safe to use a Will kit?
The short answer is no. There are many many reasons not to use a Will kit or to write your own Will. If you desperately need a Will but can’t get inRead More…
What documents do I need for probate?
Often we find that when a client’s loved one has passed away, they will receive assistance in dealing with the funeral from a funeral home, but then aren’t sure of what happensRead More…
Service of Inheritance claims in SA (Family Provision)
It’s extremely important to properly serve family provision claims in South Australia. A failure to serve a claim correctly and within time can have disastrous results for potential beneficiaries. (See my postRead More…
How much should probate cost?
If you’ve come to this page then you’ve probably been told that you need a lawyer to get a grant of probate, but you might not know what that is, what isRead More…
The South Australian Wills register
The Law Society of South Australia has recently released a system for recording the location of wills held by law practices. It’s a great idea and I commend the Succession Law committeeRead More…
Family provision claims against estates – procedure
In my last post on contesting a will or estate I discussed family provision claims against deceased estates. In this post I will go further by talking about what is often involvedRead More…
Major increase to probate fees
For quite some time the South Australian government has been talking about making changes to the filing fees for applications for grants of probate and grants of letters of administration so thatRead More…
Family provision claims against estates
This is part 3 of what is to be a series about different types of potential claims against estates (see Part 1: Contesting a will or estate). Family provision claims (also knownRead More…
Advance care directives (ACDs)
Often when you see a lawyer about drawing up a Will, you will also be asked whether you would like to have an Enduring Power of Attorney and an Advance Care DirectiveRead More…
Contesting the validity of a will
In this post I will briefly discuss disputes about whether a will is valid, as opposed to other types of estate disputes that may involve contesting the effect of a will. ContestingRead More…