The purpose of will and inheritance law is to enable individuals to legally set out how they want their assets to be distributed in the event of their death, will and inheritance law also sets out how the estate of an individual who dies intestate (without a will) will be distributed.
All law relating to will and inheritance law are part of either the Wills act 1997 (Vic)[1], which includes the requirements to make a legally recognised will or the Administration and probate act 1958 (Vic)[6], which includes the rules for the distribution of the estate of an individual who dies intestate. Any issues regarding disputing of wills are civil matters and are between private individuals.
Case study
Williams v. Ryan [2]
(Supreme Court of Victoria 4/9/1998)
The will of the late EILEEN ELSIE RYAN is being contested.
The plaintiff is Bruce Ryan, who is contesting his late mother’s will on the grounds that it was modified while she was suffering serve dementia, a condition that in most cases causes the individual to lack the mental capacity to fully understand what
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Despite this Williams & Howden took Eileen Ryan to get her will rewritten. In this new will Bruce Ryan’s share was cut in half (A loss of some $12,000), this forms the grounds of the contesting of the will. The Wills act 1997 (Vic)[1] outlines the requirements for a will to be recognised, this includes the fact that the will maker must be able to understand the nature of the will. In the event this is not the case then the will is declared null, the individual has died intestate and the Administration and probate act 1958 (Vic) outlines how the estate is to be distributed. If the will is found by the courts to be invalid then Eileen Ryan will have died intestate and her assets will be distributed according to the Administration and probate act 1958
Norris- the plaintiff had worked decedent's farm, worked the soil, and harvested and marketed the produce. Plaintiff, working primarily without the decedent's aid, and drove the produce to various markets. She handled all finances and deposited them in the couple's joint banking account. Finally, the evidence showed that the decedent, an alcoholic, depended almost entirely on plaintiff's work in the produce business and as well her care of him while he was ill.
Case name: Peter K. Dementas v The Estate of Jack Tallas, 764 P.2d 628 (1988)
The Plaintiff sought the deceased’s entire estate be distributed alone to her, aligning with s.134(1) of the Act, instead of its equal division between both parents under s.138 of the Act. This was sought under the ‘laws, customs, traditions, and practices’ of the Indigenous group the deceased belonged to, instead of the legislative rules of intestacy. The Plaintiff, a member of the Wiradjuri Yorta community in NSW, was the deceased’s carer. The deceased’s biological father, Stephen Farkas, was not an Indigenous man and lacked any part in the proceedings.
The Supreme Court of Canada. Judgement by McLachlin J. Also present: Lamer C.J. and L’Heureux Dubé, Gonthier, Cory, Iacobucci, Major, Bastarache and Binnie JJ.
Prior to discussing why Advanced Directives are so essential the definition of Advanced Directives is crucial. An Advanced Directive is made up of several legal components which ultimately online the patient’s wishes if one was to be incapacitated or unable to verbally make wishes know regarding healthcare. The understanding of what a living will and a durable power of attorney both need to be discussed before one is able to compare and contrast. A living will ensures that anyone reading this paper will understand how the patient wanted to continue their form of treatment. With a living will anyone ranging from patients to healthcare professions should be able to determine the specific actions the patients would want taken if they are unable to make said wishes known. A
9. Woodgate, R., Black, A., Biggs, J., Owens, D. (2003). Legal Studies for Queensland, Volume 1, ForthEdition, Legal Eagle Publications: Queensland. 10. Woodgate, R., Black, A., Biggs, J., Owens, D. (2003).
There are four sources of Law in the Australian Legal System. They are Statute Law, which is made in Parliament, Common Law and the Law of E...
California State law needs clear and convincing proof of what the client would desire. Of all the numerous acceptable forms of proof, a health care statement (called a Living Will) can be the very best. It simply documents a person’s desires worrying treatment when those wishes can no longer be personally communicated. Even in CA, such a file is recognized if it is clear, specific and
Andrews N, ‘Does a third party beneficiary have a right in English law?’ (1988) 8 Legal Studies 14
If I name two or more primary beneficiaries to receive a specific gift of property and any of them do not survive me, all surviving primary beneficiaries shall equally divide the deceased primary beneficiary's share unless I have specifically provided otherwise. If I name two or more alternate beneficiaries to receive a specific gift of property and any of them do not survive me, all surviving alternate beneficiaries shall equally divide the deceased alternate beneficiary's
The case had to do with Mr. Jacob Wood. He died in his early fifties from lung cancer. The plaintiff was trying to prove that the lung cancer was directly caused f...
Consider the validity and effect of the following two clauses in the will of Dan: a) ‘I leave my cottage, at 42 Drumsesk Road, to my friend Gurpreet in full confidence that he will dispose of it in accordance with the instructions given to him during my lifetime’. Just before Dan signed the will, he told Gurpreet that he had left a ‘sum of money’ in the will to Gurpreet which he wanted him to hold for the benefit of Jenny. Gurpreet witnessed the will. Jenny died two days before Dan leaving two children. b) ‘I leave my residuary estate to my brothers Ken and Sam jointly’. A few days before the execution of the will Dan gave Ken a sealed envelope, saying ‘these are some instructions I want you and Sam to carry out when I die’. Ken replied ‘you know you can rely on me – if it’s fine with Sam it’s fine with me’. A year later Sam and Dan were killed in a car accident. The sealed envelope says that Dan wanted his residuary estate to pass to his youngest son Joseph. Advise the executors of Dan’s will.
Palmer, the defendant, claimed that he has the right to the property according to the law because he was named the heir in the will (Riggs v Palmer). The plaintiffs, Mrs. Riggs and Mrs. Preston, however brought this action before the court to fight against this will, for they believed that Palmer should no longer be entitled to the property, which he so wrongfully gained. The objective of the statute is to address issues concerning wills so that testators could carry out their final wishes by passing their property off to their loved ones (Riggs v Palmer). This fact is what gave rise to different arguments from the majority to the dissenting judges. The issues were how to interpret the law rationally, and whether Palmer, who murdered his grandfather should be entitled to the property. The judges believed that although the law at that time did not address the issue of what would happen to the property in the event that the heir murdered the testator, to allow such a thing would never be the intention of legislators (Riggs v Palmer). Had legislators ever
ix Beit v. Probate and Family Court Department, 434 N.E.2d 642 (1982), at 643, citing The Trial at 290.