Wills & Estate Planning

Our Wills and Estates team includes four Accredited Specialists recognised by the Law Society of NSW and several practitioners recognised by the Doyles Guide, offering extensive experience for both local and overseas clients. 

We create tailored estate and business succession plans, guiding you through wills, trusts, powers of attorney, guardianship, tax implications, and superannuation. 

Wills and estate planning are essential for properly protecting your assets and ensuring your intentions on your death are carried out. A comprehensive estate plan covers control of your affairs if you lose capacity and who benefits from your estate after death, taking into account tax considerations on superannuation and capital gains. 

We assist executors in obtaining probate or administrators in grants on intestacy, including for overseas assets. We also handle complex cases, such as partial intestacies; incapacitated executors; and informal testamentary documents. 

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Specialist expertise

We create custom designed estate planning solutions to suit each client’s position, objectives and preferences through the preparation of a comprehensive estate and business succession plan. We will be there every step of the way, applying our thorough understanding of the law in relation to wills, trusts, powers of attorney, guardianship, tax and superannuation.

Our team advises on and acts in contested estate matters of all levels of complexity, including

  • Family provision matters;
  • Construction and rectification of ambiguous wills;
  • Probate disputes concerning testamentary capacity, knowledge and approval, undue influence or fraudulent calumny;
  • Elder abuse of the vulnerable;
  • Statutory wills for incapable testators;
  • Holding defaulting executors to account;
  • Protective matters; and
  • Matters before the Guardianship Division of NCAT. 

Wills & Estate Planning

Our experience

  • Adult child provision plaintiff Advising in the Victorian Supreme Court who recovered $3,150,000 from her late father’s estate of $13 million – Kornwasser v Spigelman [2022] VSC 759.
  • Peter Dyce and the Dyce Group of Companies Advising substantial private property investors on disputed matters concerning Mr Dyce’s estate plan – Dyce v David Landa Stewart Pty Ltd [2021] NSWSC 590. 
  • Beneficiary in disputed Estate Administration Acting in a case with 45-year delay in administration – Perry v Perry [2021] NSWSC 1669.
  • Executors Advising in an application for a Statutory Will in the ACT Supreme Court – Drakakis v Makas [2016] ACTSC 247.
  • Executors Acting in NSW Supreme Court rectification proceedings – Estate of Wright [2016] NSWSC 1779).
  • Various clients Preparing documents including standard and complex testamentary trust wills, enduring powers of attorney, appointments of enduring guardian, superannuation binding death benefit nominations and statements of wishes re guardianship of minors. 
  • Clients with international and jurisdictional issues Acting in relation to the Will maker or beneficiaries being U.S citizens and the complexities arising with U.S. Estate Tax. 
  • Various executors Advising and assisting on complex estate administration matters relating to an estate where the terms of the will were unclear, and where there was property in multiple jurisdictions. 
  • The trustee Acting in the NSW Court of appeal case of Beck v Henley [2014] NSWCA 2013 in which we obtained judicial advice pursuant to the Trustee Act 1925. The decision set limits around the scope of a beneficiary to direct a trustee as to how it should act. 
  • Diabetes Australia Acting in the Supreme Court of NSW case Estate of Poore; Parkinson v Diabetes Australia & Anor; [2011] NSWSC 1530 to successfully defend its entitlement where the identity of the intended charity beneficiary named in the will was disputed by a similarly named charity.
  • The plaintiff Acting in the Supreme Court of NSW case of Hoolahan v Scali [2010] NSWSC 1349 to successfully claim $7.5 million for a client who after 35 years of marriage had received negligible provision from the $15 million estate of her late husband.
  • A beneficiary Advising in an out of court settlement for a will claimed by the plaintiffs to have been revoked either by the deceased tearing it or by a subsequent informal will. The Attorney General was joined to represent the charity beneficiaries entitled under one of the wills of the deceased.  The complex proceedings involved forensic examination of documents and signatures; and separate concurrent claims for provision by numerous family members. We successfully negotiated a settlement of over $7 million for our client.