Contested Wills Claims

Despite the terms of a Will, a Court may make orders to redistribute the assets of a Deceased Estate to include people who have been left out of a Will, or where they are named in the Will but proper provision has not been made for them. At Roberts Legal, our dedicated Deceased Estates Team will resolutely guard and pursue your legal rights to protect, and even increase, your entitlement to an Estate.

Who can make a claim?

The following categories of people may make a claim for provision from an Estate despite the terms of the Will:

• the wife or husband or de facto partner of the deceased as at the date of death,
• a child (or adopted child) of the deceased,
• the ex-wife or ex-husband of the deceased,
• a grandchild of the person who was wholly or partially dependent upon the deceased at any time.
• any person who lived with the deceased at some time who was dependent upon them to some
• extent at any time (this category may include step-children and foster children), and
• a person who was living with the deceased at the date of death and provided the deceased with, or for whom the deceased provided, domestic support and personal care.

A person who can establish that they fall into one or more of the above classes is described by the relevant law as an ‘eligible person’.

In many cases, Contested Wills Claims are resolved without the need for extensive, or any, Court proceedings. Contact the Deceased Estates Team at Roberts Legal to speak to an experienced Solicitor who will pursue your interests without delay.

Redistribution of Estate

In circumstances where an eligible person can prove that they have been unreasonably left out of a Will, or are named in a Will but have been not properly provided for, a Court may make orders to redistribute the Estate to allow for the eligible person to receive an inheritance.

What if there is no Will?

A Court may also make orders allowing provision for an eligible person in circumstances where the deceased did not leave a Will.

Time limits

A person must make a claim within 12 months of the date of death (where the date of death is after 1 March 2009). If this time limit has passed, the person must seek the Court’s permission to make a claim.

Ask us a Contested Wills Claims Question

If the information that you are seeking is not above please feel free to ask us a question. We will gladly provide you with our considered response.

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