How our Experienced Inheritance Lawyers can Help

Is estate planning merely a supplementary service your prospective law firm offers to upsell existing clients, or is it a core area of their expertise? It's essential to recognize that excellence in family or criminal law doesn't automatically translate to proficiency in estate planning. Our legal team specializes in challenging unjust wills and defending against contested ones on a daily basis. In numerous instances, costly litigation could have been sidestepped through prudent estate planning or even a modestly-priced but expertly drafted will. Our focus on wills and estate matters equips us with the insights needed to anticipate potential risks. Does your chosen legal advisor possess this specialized knowledge? We encourage you to inquire.

While drafting a will may not be the most glamorous aspect of legal practice, it is undoubtedly one of the most crucial. In many firms, this task is frequently relegated to paralegals or legal secretaries. However, at Will and Estate Lawyers Australia, this is not the case. Here, a fully qualified solicitor oversees the drafting of your will from inception to completion. This approach ensures that you are fully apprised of any potential vulnerabilities that could make your will susceptible to challenges, providing you the opportunity to proactively address them.

Before we start work, we’ll give you a fixed fee Will quote. We offer a free no obligation telephone consultation with a lawyer so you can get a feel of whether you feel comfortable working with us.

Receiving an inheritance from a deceased estate in Queensland can occur under three primary circumstances: either you are a named beneficiary in the testator's will, you successfully challenge the terms of a will, or you are entitled to inherit based on intestacy laws in the absence of a valid will. 

Read more: Guide to Inheritance Laws in Queensland

The initial step for a claimant interested in pursuing a Family Provision Claim is to engage with the executor of the estate to assess the merit of their claim. Consulting a solicitor can greatly aid the claimant in negotiating with the executor, potentially avoiding a drawn-out legal battle.

If an amicable settlement is not attainable with the executor, the claimant has the option to formally petition the court for a redistribution of the estate. Courts evaluate Family Provision Claims individually, scrutinizing factors such as the deceased's obligations to the claimant and the claimant's financial circumstances.

Strict time limits apply to claims, so if you have been left out of the will of a spouse, parent or someone you were financially dependent upon, then contact us immediately for a free, no-obligation consultation.

In cases where a family member has passed away without a valid will, the procedure for inheritance is relatively straightforward in Queensland. The state follows a statutory order of succession to ensure that the deceased's closest relatives inherit the estate. Under this framework, a spouse is the primary beneficiary, inheriting the entire estate unless there are surviving children. In such cases, the spouse receives the first $150,000, all household possessions, and a third of any remaining estate. If there is no surviving spouse, the children inherit the entire estate in equal shares.

Should the deceased pass away without a spouse or children, the estate is allocated to the next closest relatives based on a predetermined order: first to parents, then siblings, followed by nieces and nephews, grandparents, and finally, aunts and uncles.