Estate Litigation Forum 2021
With estate litigation on the rise, don’t miss this chance to work through a range of comprehensive and focused sessions tackling the key issues facing wills and estates practitioners. Review the latest cases, mediation, costs, quantum, notional estates, procedural best practices and so much more. You won’t find a more in-depth and useful guide to estate litigation anywhere else. WEB219N13
Description
Attend and earn 7 CPD units in Substantive Law
This program is based on NSW legislation
Session 1
Estate Litigation
Chair: Paul Evans, Partner, Makinson d’Apice Lawyers; Leading Wills, Estates & Succession Planning Lawyer and Recommended Wills & Estates Litigation Lawyer, Doyle’s Guide 2020
9.00am to 9.05am Opening Comments by the Chair
9.05am to 9.50am Family Provision Case Update
An essential examination of recent decisions, including the key principles and the practice and procedure learnings that they provide you to immediately include in your practice.
Presented by Andrew Stevens, Barrister, 2nd Floor Wentworth Chambers
9.50am to 10.35am Wills and Estates Claims in 2021: A Hotchpotch of Issues
- Will making in the COVID decade
- Rectification of wills and solicitor’s duties
- Claims for liens by solicitor executors, can it happen?
- Finding missing beneficiaries: How far must an executor go?
- Release of family provision rights; tips on recent practice and procedure
Presented by Ramena Kako, Barrister; Recommended Wills & Estates Litigation Junior Counsel, Doyle’s Guide 2020
10.35am to 10.50am Morning Tea
10.50am to 11.35am The Way You Do the Things You Do: Procedural Aspects of Estate Litigation
- Initial client conference
- Negotiations before commencing proceedings
- Preparing the client for commencing proceedings
- Preparing for the first directions hearing
- Disclosure: notices to produce and subpoena
- Registrar mediation, private mediation, settlement conference and judicial settlement conference
- Critical path for preparing for trial
Presented by Therese Catanzariti, Barrister, 13 Wentworth Chambers; Recommended Wills & Estates Litigation Junior Counsel, Doyle’s Guide 2020
11.35am to 12.20pm Notional Estate Provisions of the Succession Act
- Can an estate plan be watertight against a family provision claim?
- Refresher on the notional estate sections
- Examples of relevant property transactions
- Case review
Presented by Anthea Kennedy, Partner, Bridges Lawyers; Accredited Specialist, Wills and Estates Law; Preeminent Wills & Estates Litigation Lawyer and Preeminent Wills, Estates & Succession Planning Lawyer, Doyle’s Guide 2020
12.20pm to 1.05pm Complex Issues in the Succession List: Practical Insights
- When a grant of probate/administration has not been granted
- The use of expert evidence
- When executors do not get along
- Informal ‘wills’
- Caveats
Presented by Renee Bianchi, Barrister, 13th Floor St James Hall Chambers; Leading Wills & Estates Litigation Junior Counsel, Doyle’s Guide 2020
1.05pm to 1.15pm Final Q&A and Closing Comments by the Chair
Session 2
Family Provision Claims Roundup
Chair: Gerard Basha, Parter, Bartier Perry; Accredited Specialist in Wills & Estates Law; Leading Wills & Estates Litigation Lawyer and Preeminent Wills, Estates & Succession Planning Lawyer, Doyle’s Guide 2020
2.00pm to 2.45pm Assessing the Quantum of a Family Provision Claim
- Need or want?
- The reducing effect of estrangement
- When is a Crisp order appropriate?
- How big is a fund for contingencies?
Presented by Victoria Hartstein, Barrister, Chalfont Chambers
2.45pm to 3.30pm Costs and Family Provision Claims
- Legislative framework
- Small estates
- Proportionality principle
- Cost capping
- Costs affidavits
Presented by Linda Clarke, Barrister, 2nd Floor Wentworth Chambers
3.30pm to 3.45pm Afternoon Tea
3.45pm to 4.30pm Mediation in Estate Litigation: A Best Practice Guide
- Preparing for the mediation
- What type of mediation?
- Ensuring that all persons having an interest in the outcome are represented
- Negotiation
- Documenting the settlement
Presented by John Armfield, Barrister, 2nd Floor Wentworth Chambers; Preeminent Wills & Estates Litigation Junior Counsel, Doyle’s Guide 2020
4.30pm to 5.15pm Wives, Ex-Wives and Defacto Wives Revisited
- The primacy of the widow’s claim following Steinmetz v Shannon [2019] NSWCA 114 and Sarrant v Sarrant [2020] NSWSC 1686
- Will ex -wives recover from Lodin v Lodin [2017] NSWCA 327
- De facto wives and ‘close personal relationships’ following Smoje v Forrester [2017] NSWCA 308 and Yeshilat v Calokerinos [2021] NSWCA 110
Presented by Raoul Wilson SC, Eight Floor Wentworth Chambers; Leading Wills & Estates Litigation Senior Counsel, Doyle’s Guide 2020
Presenters
Paul Evans, Partner, Makinson d'Apice
Paul qualified as a Solicitor in England in 1992 and in NSW in 1994. He specialises in wills and estate planning, disputes to wills, protecting assets for future generations and estate administration. Paul lived in London for 18 years and during that time specialised in inheritance tax mitigation and also acted for charities. Paul worked at National Australia Trustees Limited (part of Nab private wealth) where he was Manager Northern States, Estate Planning. He is a member of the Specialist Accreditation Wills and Advisory Committee and a regular speaker on Wills and Estate Law.
John Armfield, Barrister, 2nd Floor Wentworth Chambers
John specialises in estate litigation. Regularly advising and appearing for plaintiffs and estates in relation to matters in the Equity Division of the Supreme Court of New South Wales. John has extensive experience in representing clients at mediations and informal settlement conferences. He has also acted as a court-appointed mediator with respect to Family Provision claims. His practice has a strong emphasis on probate, Family Provision applications and will construction. He has also appeared in applications seeking a review of orders allowing commission to executors.
Ramena Kako, Barrister
Ramena is a barrister specialising in wills, probate and succession law, equity and trusts. She advises on all matters coming within the jurisdiction of the Equity Division of the Supreme Court such as real property disputes, commercial disputes, injunction applications, accounts and partnership disputes. Ramena's experience ranges from advising executors and beneficiaries in all areas of contested and non-contested probate applications, family provision claims, informal and lost will applications, applications for court authorized wills for persons lacking testamentary capacity, judicial advice applications, s95 Succession Act 2006 releases, next of kin enquiries, Re Benjamin applications, breach of trust claims, seeking declarations of trust and equitable estoppel claims.
Therese Catanzariti, Barrister, Thirteen Wentworth Selborne
Therese practices in the area of wills and estates including probate, Family Provision and succession planning. She has particular expertise in estates involving small to medium businesses, superannuation, discretionary trusts and intellectual property. She was admitted as a solicitor in 1992 and was a senior associate in corporate and commercial/tax at Mallesons (now King and Wood Mallesons), and then worked in Europe. She was called to the NSW Bar in 2010.
Anthea Kennedy, Partner, Bridges Lawyers
Anthea has been in practice as a solicitor since 1992. Her work is mainly litigation, a high proportion of which is contested probate, Family Provision cases and other equity work together with estate planning advice. Anthea is an accredited specialist in Wills and Estates Law and the Chair of the Advisory Committee for Specialist Accreditation in Wills and Estates. She is also a member of the Supreme Court Equity Liaison Group. She has been presenting at seminars and workshops in the areas of Wills and Estates law since 2002.
Renee Bianchi, Barrister, 13th Floor St James Hall Chambers
Renée commenced practice as a barrister in 2013. Since being at the Bar, she has built up a diverse practice in equity, common law, and commercial matters. She appears regularly in a variety of jurisdictions in New South Wales and the Supreme Court of the ACT. Renée is currently the President of the Women Lawyers Association of New South Wales, having joined the Executive Committee in 2018, and a member of the Women Barristers Forum. She is a Past President of NSW Young Lawyers and a Past Chair of the Young Lawyers Committee of the Law Council of Australia. Renee is the Board Secretary of the B Miles Women’s Foundation.
Victoria Hartstein, Barrister, Chalfont Chambers
Victoria was admitted as a barrister in NSW in 1978. Victoria has been practising at the NSW Bar in general civil areas since 1995. She regularly appears in the Family Provision List and is briefed extensively by the NSW Crown Solicitor and by the NSW Health Care Complaints Commission (HCCC). Vicki Hartstein specialises in family provision law, professional discipline related to legal practitioners and medical and allied health practitioners, child protection including international child abduction (involving the Hague Convention on Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction) and administrative law relating principally to Children's Guardian matters.
Linda Clarke, Barrister, Second Floor Wentworth Chambers
Linda is a barrister and mediator practising primarily in the areas of estate litigation (with an emphasis on family provision and probate) and family law. She appears regularly in the Probate and Family Provision Lists. Linda has a particular interest in claims involving the protective jurisdiction, the use and misuse of POA’s and EPOA’s, and the growing area of elder abuse.
Andrew Stevens, Barrister, 2nd Floor Wentworth Chambers
Andrew practices in Equity and Succession Law, including probate, family provision, contested estates and equity claims. He presents at Continuing Professional Development seminars in the topic of succession law. Andrew has achieved a Masters in Laws majoring in Wills & Estates. He previously worked as a paralegal and solicitor prior to coming to the NSW Bar.
Raoul Wilson SC, Eight Floor Wentworth Chambers
Raoul has over 36 years’ experience as a legal practitioner, having taken silk in 2013 after being admitted to the Bar in 1984. His expertise extends to advising and appearing in equity and commercial matters where he customarily appears at first instance and on appeal in the Supreme Court of New South Wales, the Federal Court of Australia and the Family Court of Australia (in disputes involving company directors, trustees in bankruptcy and equitable interests). Raoul is an experienced Mediator in wills and estate matters which are referred by the Supreme Court of New South Wales for private mediation.
Gerard Basha, Partner, Bartier Perry
Gerard is the Head of Bartier Perry's Private Clients Group. He is recognised as a leader in his field, and his clients benefit from his wide-, ranging experience and specialist legal advice. Gerard has advised and been involved as an expert court witness in succession law cases. He is an Accredited Specialist in Wills and Estates Law and a Notary Public, Chair of the NSW Wills and Estates Law Accredited Specialists Practice Group. Gerard served as a director on a number of boards and currently sits on the committees of a number of community based organisations.