by Cameron Shaw | Sep 26, 2022
Mutual wills can play an important part in testamentary planning if there is no other reasonable alternative. Birtles and Neal in Hutley’s Australian Wills Precedents (8th ed, 2014) advise simply: “Avoid them.” The reason is that a mutual will...
by Cameron Shaw | Feb 17, 2018
What is a blended family? A ‘blended’ family can take many different forms. Typically it might be where a testator (the will maker) has children to a first marriage or partnership, that relationship ends, and he or she enters into a relationship...
by Cameron Shaw | Nov 26, 2017
Do I need a discretionary family trust? What is a family trust? A family trust is a discretionary trust set up to hold the assets of a family or to run a family business. No two discretionary family trusts are the same, yet there are two overarching benefits in...
by Cameron Shaw | Feb 10, 2017
You can contest a will if you believe its terms do not treat you fairly. Perhaps you have not received what you believe to be a fair share of the deceased person’s estate or you have been completely omitted from the will. Although the deceased person may have...
by Cameron Shaw | Oct 19, 2016
A testamentary discretionary trust (TDT) is a special type of trust created within your will. The TDT is different from a typical simple will. In a typical simple will the bequests or gifts of the will are given directly to the beneficiaries (subject to any delay...
