Our client always had a loving and close relationship with her mother; she attended upon her domestic needs weekly, particularly when her mother was ill a couple of years before her passing. So she was understandably shocked when she was informed that she was to receive only an amount of $15,000 from her mother’s ACT Estate.
Our client was more concerned about the Will itself, as it was only created a month before her mother’s death, and her and her brother’s names were spelt incorrectly. This led her to consider her options in contesting the will.
Our client immediately contacted GMP contesting a Wills Lawyers for advice on her rights and entitlements in respect to contesting a Will and the validity of the Will itself.
GMP Lawyers were instructed to act for the client and her brother in this matter, and the matter was commenced in the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory.
Initially our client was seeking to pursue a claim to prove that her late mother did not have the mental capacity to create the Will. However, Mr David Cossalter, a highly experienced Wills Dispute Lawyer at GMP Lawyers explained to the client the potential issues of bringing such a claim forward and the lack of evidence in proving that the deceased lacked mental capacity.
Our client accepted this advice and instructed Mr Cossalter of her intentions to contest the Will under the family provision.
Mr Cossalter immediately contacted the Executors of the estate, putting them on notice of the claim and the client’s intention to seek further provisions under the estate.
Recognising that the claim could potentially drag on for months, or potentially years, costing our client time and money, Mr Cossalter immediately began the settlement process and conveyed an offer of settlement to the Executors of the Estate.
The claim successfully settled and our client was awarded close to $400,000 from the Estate of her late mother. This was a fantastic outcome for our client and this was all achieved without the need of attending a lengthy court proceeding. Our client was able to use the funds from the Estate to purchase a family home.
