Succession Law Symposium
Issues covered include: deceased estates, superannuation, family provision applications, urgent and interlocutory applications, mediation, ethics, risk management, capacity, vulnerability
Description
What matters might come crashing through your door at any moment? Complex superannuation issues in estate planning? A convoluted family provision claim? An interlocutory application that needs to be filed not now, but NOW? A contentious mediation? Anyone of these issues could demand your immediate urgent attention, so be prepared to handle all of them. Hear from the Registrar in Probate, gain a unique neuropsychological perspective on capacity, gain your CPD compulsory units all in one unbeatable conference.
Attend and earn 7 CPD units including:
4 units in Substantive Law
1 unit in Ethics & Professional Responsibility
1 unit in Practice Management & Business Skills
1 unit in Professional Skills
This symposium was recorded in NSW on 13 March 2019
Session 1
Succession Law Strategy and Procedure
Chair: Geoffry Underwood, Barrister, 6th Floor Selborne Wentworth Chambers
9.05am to 9.50am: INSIGHTS FROM THE REGISTRAR IN PROBATE: The Danger Zone for Solicitors Acting for Deceased Estates
Whether a solicitor has been appointed executor or an executor has appointed a solicitor or firm to act during the administration of an estate, there can be unforeseen risks. Increasingly beneficiaries are holding executors to account by filing applications to compel them to file and pass their accounts and it is ending in tears for many executors and solicitors when the legal bills come before the Court. Because it is no longer mandatory for executors to file probate accounts a certain complacency and rather careless business practice has been adopted by some solicitors and firms in estate administration and it is regularly ending in tears. The expression ‘ignorance is bliss’ is one that should be avoided in estate administration as poor practice can and does result in losses to the estate, the executor and the solicitor or firm. By contrast, a competent solicitor adds real value to estate administration and this adds to the individual and firm’s professional reputation. Louise will expose the risks and offer suggestions on how best to avoid them. [PS. This is not a lesson in preparing accounts.]
Presented by Louise Brown, Registrar in Probate, Supreme Court of New South Wales
9.50m to 10.35am: Emerging Issues in Superannuation and Estate Planning
- Taxation of super
- Use of Death Benefit Nominations
- Control of SMSFs on death
Presented by Paul Evans, Partner, Makinson d'Apice Lawyers, Accredited Specialist in Wills and Estates Law
10.35am to 11.20am: Lodin v Lodin: Conducting an Ex-Spouse’s Family Provision Application and the Lessons Learnt
The decision of the NSW Court of Appeal in Lodin v Lodin [2017] NSWCA 327 provides a timely reminder of the circumstances that justify a former spouse being regarded as an object of testamentary recognition by a deceased when making an application for provision pursuant to s59(1)(b) of the Succession Act (2006).
- The history of the case from the trial until the refusal of special leave in the High Court
- The lessons learnt
- Some practical matters when conducting an ex-spouse's Family Provision application
Presented by Philip Carr, Barrister, Edmund Barton Chambers
11.20am to 11.35am Morning Tea
11.35am to 12.20pm: Bringing Urgent and/or Interlocutory Applications
- Interim distributions
- Applications for judicial advice
Presented by Despina Christofis, Barrister, Fourth Floor Selborne Chambers
12.20pm to 1.05pm: Mediation in Deceased Estates
- Alternative dispute resolution in court proceedings
- Preparing for the mediation
- Benefits of mediation
- Role of practitioners
- Role of the mediator
Presented by Paul Studdert, Mediator, Studdert Mediations
Session 2
CPD Compulsory Units for Wills and Estates Lawyers
Ethics & Professional Responsibility
2.00pm to 3.00pm: Ethical Issues for Lawyers in Succession Law
- Conflicts of interest
- Testamentary capacity
- Recent cases
Presented by Dennis Flaherty, Barrister, Latham Chambers
Practice Management & Business Skills
3.00pm to 4.00pm: Risk Management in Family Provision Cases
- Costs agreements and their production in court
- Time limits
- Estrangement cases
- Complying with SC Eq 7
- s.95 releases
Presented by Vicki Hartstein, Barrister, Chalfont Chamber
4.00pm to 4.15pm Afternoon Tea
Professional Skills
4.15pm to 5.15pm: THE MEDICAL PERSPECTIVE: Capacity and Vulnerability in Succession Law
Decision-making capacity is a complex construct with many internal and external factors that can impact an individual’s capacity to make decisions and increase their vulnerability to undue influence. You will examine:
- The importance of comprehensive capacity assessment
- What questions you can ask and observations you can make, as well as when to refer an individual for expert opinion
You will receive a toolkit that will assist you when you have concerns regarding your client’s capacity to make various specific decisions, with content and case examples specifically focusing on the application to wills and estates.
Presented by Dr Amanda J White, Neuropsychological & Forensic Services and Dr Melissa Hughes, Neuroforensics