Donal Griffin, a director in our Sydney office, says that people, in the context of inheritances, seem to expect to be treated “fairly”. “Fairly” is not defined anywhere but a common view is that it means equally with their family equivalent (i.e. a child equally with another child and a cousin equally with another cousin). He points out that Australian succession legislation does not offer people redress for unfair treatment. Rather, it offers people an opportunity to ventilate a claim that they have not been properly or adequately provided for.  The meaning of these words varies State by State.

The legalistic way to avoid a dispute is to have a properly executed legal agreement with appropriate independent advice and the blessing of the Court. For most families this will be too hard to agree and too expensive to make binding. Effective estate planning, in which de Groots specialises, is usually the most appropriate way to manage potential costly and damaging disputes.

Donal was quoted in the Brisbane Times recently as well as the Sydney Morning Herald article Making that windfall last