A Western Sydney man died in 2016 leaving his estate to his wife. The estate consisted of approximately $230,000 in savings and the deceased’s half share in the marital property. Whilst it is not unusual for someone to leave their assets to their husband or wife, it is not always fair or reasonable. In this particular case, the deceased failed to make provision for his two children from a previous marriage. It was these two children that contacted Gerard Malouf & Partners Will Dispute Lawyers following the death of their father to enquire about contesting a Will.
The Will of the deceased left everything to his wife, the step mother of our clients. As neither of our clients had lived with or been dependent upon their step mother they would have no right to claim on her estate in the future. As such, as the situation stood neither of our clients would see a cent from their father’s estate. Upon contacting Gerard Malouf & Partners Will Dispute Lawyers we were able to identify that both children had a right to make a claim for Family Provision.
Both of our clients were aged in their fifties, living in rental accommodation and neither had substantial savings or superannuation. Their step mother was living in the matrimonial home and had some savings supplementing her pension. Excluding the matrimonial home the estate consisted of savings of about $230,000.
Our experienced Will Dispute Lawyers commenced proceedings seeking Family Provision on behalf of our clients. We collected, drafted and served evidence establishing each clients’ claim.
Ultimately, we were able to negotiate a settlement on behalf of our clients’ whereby they received close to half of the funds held in their father’s bank account. This was a very good outcome noting the modest size of the estate and the competing claim of the widow.
We were able to successfully achieve this result without the need of a costly court hearing. Each of our clients were happy to receive recognition in the form of provision from their late father’s estate. They were able to utilise these funds to pay off debts and supplement their savings.
If you have been left out of a Will contact Gerard Malouf & Partners Will Dispute Lawyers today.
