Wills and Estates Newsletter – May 2020
Published on May 7, 2020 by Adelaide Ryan, Josephine Heesh, Patricia Monemvasitis and Rebecca Tidswell
Welcome to the Autumn edition of our Wills and Estates Newsletter
In this edition our team will report on the following topics:
- Have you been appointed executor of a will during the Pandemic?
- A recent decision handed down by the Court of Appeal concerning testamentary capacity;
- Making a will or an appointment of enduring guardian or enduring power of attorney during the Pandemic; and
- The COVIDSafe App – What we know and questions that remain unanswered.
We trust you will enjoy the read.
Carroll & O’Dea Lawyers Wills and Estates Team
Are you an executor during the COVID-19 pandemic?
You may be wondering what to do if a loved one or a friend has died during the COVID-19 pandemic and you have been appointed as the executor of his or her will.
We recognise that it can be an emotional time and there are measures in place to assist you to undertake your legal obligations as safely as possible.
Read more
Josephine Heesh, Partner
Adelaide Ryan, Associate
Dementia and delusions of brothels and black panthers…enough to lack testamentary capacity?
The Court of Appeal recently handed down an important decision concerning testamentary capacity in a contested probate case: Croft v Sanders [2019] NSWCA 303.
Warwick Croft died in 2016 aged 85 years old, leaving a will dated 2013 in which he left $40,000 to five of his six daughters, and the remaining daughter the balance of the estate (around $3M). Talk about favourites!
Read more
Rebecca Tidswell,Special Counsel
Making a will or an appointment of enduring guardian or enduring power of attorney during COVID-19 pandemic?
A temporary regulation was introduced by the NSW Parliament on 22 April 2020 to allow for the witnessing of legal documents via video conferencing technology such as Zoom, Loop Up, FaceTime, Skype and WhatsApp. The regulation will end on the earlier of six months after it was created, namely by 21 October 2020, on a date decided by the NSW Parliament.
Read more
Patricia Monemvasitis, Partner
Adelaide Ryan, Associate
The COVIDSafe App – What we know and questions that remain unanswered
On 26 April 2020, the Federal Government released a voluntary App for Android and iPhone – COVIDSafe – to assist in contact tracing COVID-19 in the community. This Guide asks some of the common questions about the App and covers some of the things that you need to know when considering whether to voluntarily downloading it.
Read more
Patricia Monemvasitis, Partner
