An Executor is the person appointed in a Will with the lawful authority to administer the deceased estate. The role carries a special responsibility to hold the estate in trust for the beneficiaries and to act in the best interests of the estate. Here are seven things every Executor should do.
Once more into the archive of wonky wills, baffling bequests, and improbable inheritances. Our ongoing series continues with eight more examples of what happens when estate planning goes wrong — or simply goes sideways.
Here we go again, with more Wacky Wills, Peculiar Probates and Dreadful Deaths. If you find yourself both appalled and entertained by what people get up to at the end of their days, this instalment of our series should not disappoint.
Here is another instalment of our popular series covering weird Wills, problematic probates, and the occasional disturbing departure from this world. If the following examples provoke a smile, they are intended to. But as always, behind the humour lies a serious point: Wills are legal documents, and their consequences can outlast the amusement by many years.
Death is a serious subject — but history has not been without its share of extraordinarily peculiar departures from this mortal coil. Our Weird Probate Issues series continues in its morbidly popular vein. Beyond the dark humour, however, each of these stories carries a practical estate planning message: death can be unexpected. The time to prepare is now.
Celebrity estates are public affairs. When something goes wrong, it goes wrong in full view of the world. The estate planning mistakes of the rich and famous offer the rest of us an invaluable education — at no personal cost. Here are thirteen cautionary tales and the lesson each one teaches.
Some people are determined to have their final say. Our continuing series of eccentric last Wills and testaments proves that human ingenuity knows no bounds — even at the grave’s edge. Each story contains, somewhere beneath the absurdity, a lesson worth taking seriously.
They say you cannot take it with you — but that has never stopped some people from trying to have the last word. Our earlier Weird Probate Issues articles proved so popular that we have developed an entire series. This instalment features fourteen individuals who used their Wills to make extraordinary, eccentric, and sometimes frankly bizarre final demands. While entertaining, each example carries a serious reminder: your Will is a legal document. Getting it right matters.
Do domestic and de facto partners have the same rights as people who are married?
The short answer is no with a ‘but’. The longer answer is maybe, with an ‘it depends’.
You might be wondering if you have the right to:
Claim your partner’s superannuation death benefits?
Challenge a Will or an estate if your partner has not made adequate provision for you?
One of the duties of an executor in administering an estate is to satisfy any outstanding debts owed by the deceased upon their death.
An executor who is aware of an outstanding claim by a creditor, or a possible claim against the estate, but nevertheless distributes the estate, may be personally liable to the creditor.
Although there is no requirement in South Australia to advertise for creditors, it is generally advisable to do so in order to enjoy the protection afforded to estate executors and trustees by s. 29 of the Trustee Act 1929 (SA).