Beware if You Seek to Rely on a Docusigned Contract
In the ever-evolving digital age, Docusign has emerged as a widely-used method for electronically signing documents. However, as demonstrated in the recent case before Whitby J in the Supreme Court of Western Australia, PROSPA ADVANCE PTY LTD -v- TASOU [2024] WASC 359, relying on a Docusigned contract is not without risks, particularly when the authenticity […]
Be Careful With How You Word Your Will
A lady called a few years ago wanting to change her mother’s Will, because the named executors has passed away. Her mother has dementia, and while she had an enduring power of attorney, making a Will is something an attorney cannot do. I advised that it was not worth making an application to the Supreme […]
Advance Health Directive
I have client with a severe Heart condition. She’s only been given about a month to live. She has had enough and does not wish to be resuscitated if her heart fails, so she wanted to sign an Advance Health Directive. There is a new AHD form, which, I am happy to report, is a […]
Deed of Gift
This week I’ve been giving advice to a new client about transferring her house into her name and her daughter, as joint tenants, so that it does not form part of her estate and be the subject of a claim by her other daughter, from whom she has been estranged for 14 years. The transfer […]
Disputes over Deceased Estates
We settled a matter involving a deceased estate. My client’s father passed away, leaving a Will. He left a sum of money to each of my client’s children and half the balance to my client’s sister, the executor. The rest was to be held on trust by the Public Trustee with the income from the […]
Tax -Effective Estate Planning – Over 65
I came across an interesting private tax ruling. A lady who was over the age of 65 had a Will leaving her estate to her 3 independent adult children. She had $1.5 million in superannuation, mostly concessional contributions. On her death, between them, her children stood to lose 15% in tax, a total of about […]
Tax- Effective Wills
Who would like to give 2% of their superannuation to the tax man, for no good reason? These days, most people have a half-reasonable amount in super. Most married people who die give their super to their spouse, but what about the survivor? They typically give their super to their adult children. If they do […]
Transfer of Farmland
We are dealing with an interesting matter involving transfer of farmland Our client’s husband passed away a year ago. He left his farming property to a landholding trust. She has been running the farm in her own name since. Our client wants to sell some of that land to her children, but without incurring substantial […]
Grants of Probate & Letters of Administration in 7 Days!
The Western Australian Supreme Court is granting well-prepared Applications for Grants of Probate and Letters of Administration in about 7 days at the moment. However, if you choose to have the Grant posted out to you, rather than collecting it from the registry, it takes another 2 weeks to arrive by Post. We are not […]
Probate Applications
We are assisting with probate applications for a couple of executors. One involves an executor who is in Melbourne, but the deceased, his aunt, lived here in Perth. Her sister, the executor’s mother also lives in Perth, so to simplify the process, the executor is appointing his mother as his attorney for the purpose of […]