We can assist you with the following matters:

• Drafting & updating wills;
• Applying for Probate;
• Assistance with claims against wills & estates
• Deceased estate claims / defending deceased estates
• Estate planning administration
• Letters of Administration (in the event that a will is deemed invalid);
• Supreme Court estate litigation; and
• Assistance with the Family Provision Act 1982
• Powers of Attorney
  

We always recommend keeping your will up to date as it makes distributing your estate far easier on your beneficiaries in what is already a hard enough time as it is.

LETTERS OF ADMINISTRATION
In the some-what complicated event that a valid will has not been left, Vo Lawyers can assist you with applying for Letters of Administration to the Supreme Court of NSW. In these circumstances, there is legislation that details how an estate may be distributed and by whom. The Supreme Court can appoint an Administrator to distribute the estate under the Wills, Probate and Administration Act 1898.

THE FAMILY PROVISIONS ACT 1982
If you expected to be a beneficiary of a will but have not been provided for, you can make a claim against the distribution of any estate under the Family Provision Act 1982, provided you can clearly set out reasons as to why you should be considered a beneficiary of the deceased estate.

PROBATE
Vo Lawyers can help you apply to the Supreme Court of NSW for Probate in instances where there is a valid will and you have been nominated as Executor of that will. The Supreme Court can then grant probate which authorises you to distribute the deceased estate in accordance with the provisions of the will.

Power of Attorney
A Power of Attorney is a legal document whereby one person grants another person the authority to make legal and financial decisions on their behalf. A Power of Attorney can be used in several ways – from having another take care of your affairs whilst travelling to times of extended illness. An Enduring Power of Attorney takes this a step further, whereby the person nominated to manage the affairs (also called the “Donee”) may continue to manage the affairs once the person giving the power (also called the “Donor”) is found to have diminished mental capacity due to injury or illness. This arrangement can remain in place as long as the donor is still alive.

Powers of Attorney can be prepared in two ways – to come into effect immediately and to continue once the donor suffers a loss of capacity; or to come into effect at a future time (such as the onset of mental incapacity).

In order to sign a Power of Attorney, the donor must be capable of understanding the nature of the document they are signing and its effect. It is therefore important in situations where a Power of Attorney must be appointed that it is done so in a timely manner.

Arrange a consultation with an experienced wills and probate lawyer.

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