Do you stand to receive a gift under a will
but find that someone who has been left out
of the will is challenging it in Court? If so, watch this short video for what you need to know.
I’m John Gallagher from Argon Law and I’ve
talked before about who can bring applications
to the court to challenge a will and the role
of the executor in those applications.
In this video I would like to talk about the
position of beneficiaries who stand to lose
out if the court makes an order to change
the way assets are to be distributed from
the estate.
Beneficiaries are obviously very interested
in the outcome of such cases, but are not
automatically parties to the court proceedings.
Technically, it is the executor named in the
will, who defends the court application and
seeks to uphold the will.
The executor must notify beneficiaries that
the application has been made and should present
to the court all evidence relevant to the
issues raised by the applicant.
This will include information about the financial
position and needs of the beneficiaries and
other relevant evidence that the beneficiaries
may bring to the executor’s attention, such
as evidence about the relationship between
the deceased and the applicant and other family
members.
In some cases, the beneficiary may feel that
they need to have legal representation separate
from the executor.
This is certainly possible, but it is important
to be aware that you may have to pay your
own legal costs, even if the will is upheld.
Also, there are strict time limits set for
when notice must be given to the court about
being separately represented. So if you feel
that any of this is relevant to you, please
call us or speak to your lawyer immediately.
Will disputes can be highly stressful, so I recommend you get some good advice.
