No Win No Fee Estate Lawyers
Contact Us for Your FREE Initial Consultation
No Win No Fee Estate Lawyers
Contact Us for Your FREE Initial Consultation
In all estate matters Hentys Lawyers are prepared to act on a No Win No Fee basis
We assess your situation so you know the best approach to take.
We’ve dealt with hundreds of disputes, and over 95% have been settled out of Court
We assess your situation so you know the best approach to take.
We’ll keep you informed and involved at every step of your Will Dispute case
We assess your situation so you know the best approach to take.
If you have been left out of a will or you feel that a will doesn’t fairly provide for you, you’re in the right place to get the information and answers you need for contesting the will.
Leading the team we have ready to help you is Richard Cudlipp, a Partner and Director at Hentys, practicing in Will Disputes and Contested Estates. With over 25 years experience, Richard is an industry expert with unrivalled knowledge in the field.
At Hentys, we understand that the death of someone close to you is a testing time, and contesting a will can make things even more difficult. But if you believe you’re entitled to more from an estate, we may be able to help. With a team of specialist will contesting barristers, you can rest assured your matter is in the best hands.
The team at Hentys are committed to the interests of our clients and we will guide and represent you throughout the entire process. We know that you need prompt answers to your important questions, and as such, we endeavour to ensure:
The best time to contest the Will is as soon as you have seen it and feel inadequately provided for. This is because Estate funds can sometimes be sold, transferred or spent and you may end up having no assets or funds to claim upon.
Contact the team at Hentys Lawyers today and we can help you determine whether you have a case. We will determine whether you are eligible to make a claim, and ensure that the application is made within the imposed time limits – an application generally has to be made six months from grant of probate or letters of administration. We will also help determine whether the basic conditions have been met. This being whether the deceased actually had a moral duty to make provision for you at the time of death, and if the will or intestacy provision failed to make adequate provision for proper maintenance and support. From here we can launch proceedings.
We will talk to you about your case and depending upon your wishes, immediately attempt to settle your claim before any court action is considered. Never hesitate to make that initial inquiry…and with our free initial advice promise, you have nothing to lose.
For more information, see our Contesting a Will FAQs.
Contesting a will is the action taken when you have been left out of will, or feel you have been treated unfairly by the Testator (deceased) within their will. Therefore you launch a family provision claim. In Melbourne, Victoria, these claims are also commonly referred to as Part IV claims or Testator Family Maintenance (TFM) claims.
Pursuant to Section 50 of the Wills Act 1997 (Vic) the following persons are entitled to inspect a Will of the deceased (to enable you to then contest it):
However, not every one of the aforementioned has the right to make a family provision claim against the deceased’s Estate (and therefore contest the Will).
There are a number of situations that may give you the right to contest a will.
Only a limited number of people and entities involved in the life of the deceased can legally file to challenge the validity of a last will and testament. In legal terms this is referred to as an “eligible person”. In order to qualify as an ‘eligible person’, the involved party must be personally affected by the outcome of the case.
In Victoria, the category of people who can contest a will is broad and can include:
In your initial consultation, your lawyer will detail the general merits of the case. If they consider that the claim does not have merit, they will let you know straight away so that you can make your own decision about whether to proceed.
If you do decide to pursue the claim, you will be provided with an initial estimate of legal costs in accordance with legislation. In all estate matters, Hentys will act on a no win, no fee basis, and as part of any settlement process, with a successful claim, costs will be paid out of the estate proceeds so that you will not incur any out of pocket expenses.
If you are considering contesting a will, it’s important to remember that each case is subject to a court appointed mediation. In the last 5 years, Hentys Lawyers have not experienced a single estate dispute claim that has proceeded to a trial.
Even though the law recognises a person’s right to choose who will inherit his or her property, there are often very good reasons why a person should be contesting a will. Whatever your reasons may be, Hentys Lawyers will represent you throughout the process, providing you the information and answers you need.
A Family Provision Claim in VIC, NSW and QLD is an application to the Court to seek adequate provision from the Estate of a deceased person.
These types of claims are commonly referred to as Part IV claims, Testator Family Maintenance (TFM) claims or ‘contesting a will’. These orders may be made in either the Supreme or Country Courts, where the Court is satisfied that:
If you think the deceased has not adequately provided for you, the following are the proceedings you would launch.
Step 1: Determine that you are an ‘eligible person’ to launch a family provision claim. This is an exhaustive list and is provided for in s 91(2)(b) of the Administration and Probate Act 1958 (Vic).
Step 2: Prove that the deceased had a moral duty to provide for your proper maintenance and support. For example you were maintained by them at some point in time. (Note: To launch a proceeding under the Administration and Probate Act 1958 (Vic), the maintenance does not have had to occur in Melbourne, Victoria or even anywhere in Australia).
Step 3: Prove that the distribution of the deceased’s estate as set out in the Will, or pursuant to the rules of intestacy, fails to make adequate provision for your proper maintenance and support.
Up until the legislative reforms, which came into effect on the 1st of January 2015, Victoria was one of the most flexible States in Australia for people making a claim against a Will. The eligible people were not specified, so anyone who believed that the deceased person had an obligation to provide them with some maintenance could make a claim.
At current, the new legislation provides the application for a family provision order may only be made by, or on behalf of an eligible person as defined as:
In Melbourne, Victoria you have strictly 6 months from the date that a grant of Probate is made to contest a will. The law can be harsh in the sense that often ‘out of time’ is synonymous with being ‘out of luck’ – although in some exceptional circumstances an extension of time will be granted. After hearing from the parties affected the court may extend the time limit as it thinks necessary. Importantly, the applicant for extension cannot be made after the final distribution of the Estate, as no distribution of any part of the Estate made prior to the applicant can be disturbed by reason of the applicant or of any order made thereon. The safest bet is to contest before the 6 month period is up.
We know that the first step can be the hardest. However, if you think that you are entitled to more from a will or Melbourne based Estate, considering the time constraints, it is important to get in touch with Hentys Lawyers as soon as possible.
Based in the heart of Melbourne, we are easily accessible, making our free initial consultation just that much more convenient. Ultimately, at Hentys, we are committed to delivering the best solutions to each of our clients and look forward to achieving the best possible outcome for you and your family.
In making a family provision order, the Court considers
Also, in determining the amount of provision to be made by a family provision order, the Court considers:
If you are not eligible to contest a will under the circumstances mentioned above, you may still be in a position to challenge the will or bring another type of Will Dispute to the table.
Each Australian State and Territory has its own laws regarding contesting Wills. While the situations under which a will can be contested are similar across the nation, you may be able to contest a Will in Victoria under the following circumstances:
Contesting a Will refers to the making of a ‘family provision claim’. It is an application to the Court to seek adequate provision from the Estate of a deceased person. I.e. you feel as if you have not been adequately provided for by the deceased, so you want to contest his or her wishes.
In Pontifical Society for the Propagation of the Faith v Scales Dixon CJ noted the relative nature of the words. Thus there is no set criteria for what is considered adequate and what is not.
‘Adequate’ and ‘proper ’in particular must be considered as words, which must always be relative. The ‘proper’ maintenance and support of a person making a claim on an estate is relative to that person’s circumstances such as their age, sex, condition and mode of life and situation generally. What is ‘adequate’ must be relative not only to their needs but also their own capacity and resources for meeting them.
According to the Family Provision Act anyone of the following may be able to claim for greater provision of an estate:
In unique cases it is possible for step-children, grandchildren, former spouse and former de facto partners to apply to contest a will.