Article by Richard Mackenzie
Effective as at 1 January 2015, the Justice Legislation Amendment (Succession and Surrogacy) Act 2014 came into effect in Victoria.
This act applies to the estate of any person on or after 1 January 2015. Previously, legislation provided for no fixed category of people eligible to make a claim against a Will of a deceased.
What this current legislation does is limit claimants to:-
A spouse or domestic partner of the deceased at the time of deceased’s death, A child or stepchild of the deceased Other claimants (These would include grandchildren, members of the deceased’s household and registered caring partners).
What the legislation is trying to do is free up the courts by ensuring that frivolous and unnecessary disputes have no opportunity of success.
This possibly is a wake-up call to all of us to revisit our Wills, especially if you have not looked at those for several years, and for those who do not have Wills, it is even more important now to put in place a Will.
If you need further information, feel free to contact our Senior Partner Dick Mackenzie on 03 8621 1000 or dick@emlawyers.com.au.
