Szabo & Associates News & Updates

A recent article in The Weekend Australian (6 January 2018) described it as “Coonawarra’s great family feud” and “a tale of grapes, and wrath; and of brothers, grim”. A story of an inharmonious interaction between a Will and an established family trust involving a complicated set of circumstances that took years to sort out through the courts. As the court pointed out this was partly caused by the testator’s (will-maker’s) apparent misunderstanding “as to what was and was not legally possible”. This emphasises the importance of utilising lawyers of the experience of Szabo & Associates, Solicitors in matters of Wills and trusts.

Trusts are used by lawyers in a variety of different ways. Solicitors will include a trust in a Will where, for example, parents want someone to look after their money for the benefit of their children after their deaths. There are, in fact, several types of trust but the most common are express trusts which include fixed and discretionary trusts. A fixed trust is where the trustees have no choice as to who the beneficiaries are or how much they receive. In a discretionary trust they distribute the trust property as they see fit. However, they must distribute it as they cannot keep it for themselves. For an express trust to be valid there have to be certain formalities adhered to (the ‘three certainties’), the purpose of which is to ensure the trust is properly controlled and enforced.

An interesting inheritance dispute case from the UK has featured in the Australian media this week. 

The question of how long it takes to wind up an estate following a death can often prey on the minds of the bereaved, as it can be hard for them to move on while their loved one’s affairs remain unsettled.

People acting as carers for terminally ill family members need more support to help them prepare emotionally for the death of their loved ones.