Wills & Estate Lawyer in Margate

Section 41 of the Succession Act 1981 (Qld) describes them in three words: spouse, child or dependant. The application is available where adequate provision was not made from the estate for that person's proper maintenance and support, and the court then orders such provision as it thinks fit. Eligibility to apply is not a question of who shares an address. Nothing here is advice about any particular person's position.

An application generally has to be started within nine months of the death, although the court has a discretion to allow a late one. That general period is also why a clearly reasoned will and a briefed executor are worth the time — an executor who understands why the will provides as it does is in a far better position than one meeting the document cold.

It is worth deciding the question rather than leaving it. Section 41 says child, and the Act does not describe the category by age or address — a child does not stop being a child on moving out. Margate's median age is 46 and it has the lowest share aged 65 and over of the five peninsula localities, so many wills here are made when children are already adults. A will that simply says nothing about an adult child has not decided the question, it has deferred it. We treat provision for adult children as ordinary drafting work rather than a special case, and the will records what was decided.

Not reliably. A person can live on their own and still be someone's parent, and a couple counted as having no children at home may have adult children living elsewhere. In Margate more than a third of households are lone-person households and family types are spread widely, so the household in front of a will-maker is often a poor guide to the family the law looks at. The planning conversation starts by listing everyone the will may need to provide for, then deciding deliberately what the will says about each of them.

As general information, superannuation death benefits and jointly held property may pass outside a will and so are not automatically governed by its terms. That matters for provision: if a sizeable asset sits outside the will, what the will sets out is being provided from a smaller pool than the will-maker had in mind. This is general information only and not personal financial or superannuation advice — the position for a particular fund, account or nomination has to be checked with the fund or institution itself, which is something we raise before the will is finalised.

No. The office you would attend is at Level 1, 133 Redcliffe Parade, Redcliffe QLD 4020, open Tuesday to Friday, 9:00am to 5:00pm — a short drive from Margate. The firm's Redcliffe wills and estates hub names Margate among the suburbs it serves.

The firm states that it offers fixed-fee work for straightforward situations, that more complex estates may need a quote worked out individually, and that it discusses the full cost up front. The process opens with an initial consultation where options are outlined, so it is a fair thing to raise there. While the will waits, the provision question stays undecided — which is the one thing careful drafting is meant to settle.