GMP Contesting a Will Lawyers were instructed by the biological child of the Deceased person. Our client, the daughter contested the Will and obtained a settlement of $150,000 without having to go to Court.
Our client instructed Mr Garbis Kolokossian that she wanted advice in respect to contesting the Will of her Mother. Our client instructed that she always had a loving relationship with her Mother (the Deceased). It was our client’s instructions that she always got on well with her Mother and that she would have regular contact with her Mother, at least once per week.
The difficulty our client had, as do many children who reside in different states, is that seeing her Mother was difficult due to travel. Nevertheless, our client would make an effort to travel interstate and visit her Mother as often as she could.
After the passing of our client’s biological Father, the Husband of the Deceased, our client made a conscious effort to support her Mother emotionally, by making herself available for long talks on the telephone, or even taking time out of her regular duties to fly to Queensland and spend time with her Mother.
Following the death of her Mother, our client learnt that she was left out of her Mother’s Will and that the whole Estate was being left to one of her siblings, and a friend.
Some of our client’s circumstances that the Court would have taken into consideration is as follows:
Our client suffered from a number of medical conditions, including:
- Gastro- oesophageal reflux disease
- Hypertension
- Osteo arthritis
- Asthma
- Osteoporosis
Our client did own a home, however, did have a number of liabilities, including a mortgage and credit cards.
Overall, our client’s debts equalled to $100,000.
In this particular scenario, the Estate was not a large one. The Estate, at its largest was worth $400,000.
Our client was advised of the hefty costs associated with Court proceedings.
Whilst our client was certain that she had good grounds for contesting the Will, she did not want to force the matter to go to Court. Rather, our client provided our Office with instructions to do all that was possible to try and bring about resolution of the matter, without incurring unnecessary legal fees.
Garbis Kolokossian from our Office, sat with the client and provided her with detailed advice on how to contest a Will and what her options where. After going through various scenarios, Garbis Kolokossian wrote to the Solicitors acting for the Estate and strenuously put to them our client’s position.
After corresponding with the Defendant’s Solicitors on multiple occasions, we were able to achieve a generous result for our client without having to go to Court.
Once the matter settled, our client sent Garbis Kolokossian an email saying “Hi, Garbis, thank you for all your efforts. We are very pleased with the outcome and thank you for all your hard work. Much appreciated”.
Another very satisfied client and a fantastic result.
If you would like advice on contesting a Will, please contact GMP who will assist you every step of the way when you make the decision to Contest a Will.