Clayton Utz Lawyers and Estate Planning ensure that each client receives professional and respectful services. We work with you to provide ethical and practical legal advice. We also stay upfront with all the legal options available to you. The lawyers specialize in various fields.
Will Disputes
You can contest a will if you feel left out or it does not give you a rightful share of the estates. You may choose to challenge it or make an inheritance claim. The time taken to dispute a will varies from state to state. For instance, in Northern Australia, you have six months from the probate date to file your claims. You can take additional time if the supreme court allows. You have no guarantee of the court extending the time.
The following reasons may lead to challenging a will
- If there is evidence of tampering or the will is not executed correctly
- If another party wrongly influenced the testator into drafting the will
- If the diseased did not fully understand the contents of the will. It could either be due to insufficient mental capacity or not understanding English
- An ambiguous will that the court is unable to understand
If these challenges are successful, the court sets aside the entire will. Instead of disputing the whole will, some family members can make an inheritance claim. It can be a child, spouse, or de facto partner to the testator. An inheritance claim requests the court to alter the will and create a provision (or better the provision) for them.