Szabo & Associates Solicitors have recently achieved a significant success in the Supreme Court on behalf of a client from the USA.
The case concerned an application for a Family Provision order from the estate of our client's former husband under chapter 3 of the Succession Act. The estate in question was large, with an estimated value of around $11 million.
The facts of the case are quite complex, but involve a marriage between our client and the deceased, who was an Australian, between 1988 and 1995. After the couple divorced the deceased subsequently remarried. There was no financial settlement after the divorce.
Our client remained on good terms with her ex-husband and, although she made no financial claims on him following the divorce, he stated on several occasions, including when he notified her that he had been diagnosed with terminal cancer, that he would make arrangements for some form of financial provision for her.
However, he failed to do so during his lifetime, and when he died his Will made no mention of any provision for his former wife.
Szabo & Associates Solicitors have now achieved a provision order to the value of $200,000 on her behalf, which will help her meet a number of essential expenses, including moving to more suitable accommodation, health care costs and education expenses.
This is a significant victory because estate claims involving former spouses are rare and are very difficult to win. Cases of this nature rarely progress beyond the stage of mediation, and if they do get to court they are seldom successful.
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If you are thinking of contesting, making or updating a Will then it is important to seek expert legal advice as quickly as possible. Contact Szabo & Associates Solicitors today and speak with one of our specialist solicitors. Call us on (02) 9281-5088 or fill in the contact form to the right of this page.