Succession Law Conference
Immerse yourself in the critical information and updates that you need to know as a succession, wills and estates lawyer at this premier event. Receive a comprehensive case update and discover the latest in contested probate and probate proceedings. Consider capacity form both the medical and legal perspectives. In the afternoon you will receive those all-important core CPD units and hear topics that are tailored to ensure relevancy for estate lawyers and can be immediately applied to your practice. 233N29
Description
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 program is based on NSW legislation
Session 1
Succession Law Conference: Estate Disputes and Complex Administration
Chair: Geoffry Underwood, Barrister, Sixth Floor Selborne Wentworth Chambers; Recommended Wills & Estates Litigation Junior Counsel, Doyle’s Guide 2019
9.00am to 10.00am Wills and Estates Case Update: Community “expectations” in Family Provision Claims
- Fundamental to advising clients on prospects of success in family provision matters is the need for an understanding of what the community would have “expected” of the testator and what community “standards” would require
- Where and how are practitioners to know such community “expectations”?
- In Sun v Chapman [2022] NSWCA 132, the Court of Appeal speaks with distinctive and compelling force on this issue, providing light and guidance to practitioners in firstly, understanding what “community expectations” means, and secondly, providing the substance of that expectation in relation spouses and de facto spouses
Presented by Dr Hayley Bennett, Barrister, New Chambers; Recommended Wills & Estates Litigation Junior Counsel, Doyle’s Guide 2022
10.00am to 11.00am Contested Probate: When Reading Over is Not Enough
- Knowledge and approval
- Suspicious circumstances
- Intersection with testamentary capacity
Presented by Craig Birtles, Barrister, 2nd Floor Wentworth Chambers; Best Lawyers 2023, Trusts and Estates; Preeminent Wills & Estates Litigation Junior Counsel, Doyle’s Guide 2022
11.00am to 11.15am Morning Tea
11.15pm to 12.15pm Estate Administration and Probate Proceedings: Probate Practice and Procedure
- Caveats and standing of caveator
- Notices in probate proceedings
- Probate in Common or Solemn form
- Unusual grants: informal wills, grants to attorneys, special administration
Presented by Anthea Kennedy, Partner, Bridges Lawyers; Accredited Specialist, Wills and Estates Law; Preeminent, Wills & Estates Litigation and Preeminent Wills, Estates & Succession Planning Lawyer, Doyle’s Guide 2022
12.15pm to 1.15pm Capacity: The Medical and Legal Perspectives
- Different roles: the Court, the medical practitioner and the solicitor
- Different tests: legal and medical perspectives when addressing:
- Capacity to engage in legal proceedings
- Capacity to contract or appoint attorneys and guardians
- Testamentary capacity
- Capacity to act in best interests
- Warning signs for solicitors: what to do and when to engage a medical practitioner
- Referrals and letters of instruction: How can solicitors best assist the medical practitioner and the Court?
- Disclosure of documents and consent: confidentiality issues
Panellists:
Asheetha Jelliffe, Partner, Bridges Lawyers; Accredited Specialist in Wills & Estates Law; Preeminent Wills & Estates Litigation Lawyer and Leading Wills, Estates & Succession Planning Lawyer, Doyle’s Guide 2022
Dr Amanda White, Clinical Neuropsychologist and Forensic Psychologist, Neuropsychological & Forensic Services
Dr Tasneem Mayat, Geriatrician, Ramsay Health Centre
Session 2
Wills and Estates: Ethics, Professional Skills and Practice Management
Chair: Gerard Basha, Partner, Bartier Perry; Accredited Specialist in Wills & Estates Law; Leading Wills & Estates Litigation Lawyer and Leading Wills, Estates & Succession Planning Lawyer, Doyle’s Guide 2022
Ethics & Professional Responsibility
2.00pm to 3.00pm Ethical Issues for Lawyers in Succession Law
- Conflicts of interest
- Recent cases
Presented by Dennis Flaherty, Barrister, Latham Chambers
Professional Skills
3.00pm to 4.00pm Collaborative Practice for Wills and Estates Lawyers
- What is collaborative practice?
- How is it different from traditional mediation?
- Which wills and estates disputes are suitable for a collaborative process?
- How do I get started?
Presented by Jane Needham SC, 13th Floor St James Hall; Preeminent Wills & Estates Litigation Senior Counsel, Doyle’s Guide 2022
4.00pm to 4.15pm Afternoon Tea
Practice Management & Business Skills
4.15pm to 5.15pm Protecting Your Wills and Estates Practice with Iron Clad Armour
- Curbing risks at the will preparation stage
- Inadequate instruction taking
- Administration mistakes
- Delay in finalising estates
Presented by Katelin Whitley, Principal, Bestic Law; Accredited Specialist in Wills & Estates; Leading Wills, Estates & Succession Planning Lawyer and Recommended Wills & Estates Litigation Lawyer, Doyle’s Guide 2022
Presenters
Geoffrey Underwood
Geoffry Underwood is a barrister practising from Sixth Floor, Selborne Wentworth Chambers, 174 Phillip Street Sydney. He practises principally in the area of Equity, Estate and Family Provision advising and litigation. He has been involved in Estate Litigation on a regular basis for over 20 years. He has many interests outside the law including family, travel, golf and classical music.
Dr Hayley Bennett
Hayley commenced practice as a barrister in 2009, having graduated from the University of NSW with first class honours in law the year before. Since commencing practice, she has been involved in cases in both public and private domains, but also specializes in health law across jurisdictions, including Succession and Protective Law. Hayley previously worked as a clinical and research neuropsychologist, and for a period sat on the Guardianship Tribunal of NSW (as it then was). Her qualifications in this area include a BA (Psychology honours), MA (Counselling), MSc (Neuropsychology), and PhD (Clinical Neuroscience). Hayley has published and lectured in these areas, as well as more recently in the area of judicial decision-making and its neurobiological underpinnings.
Craig Birtles
Craig Birtles is a barrister at the Sydney Bar specialising in estate litigation. Craig has presented extensively in estate litigation seminars. Craig was named as a Leading Junior Counsel – New South Wales in the Doyle’s Guide for 2019 and 2020. Before being called to the Bar in 2017 he was a senior associate of the firm of Teece Hodgson & Ward, Sydney working predominantly in estate litigation and protective matters. Craig was admitted to practice as a solicitor in 2008. As a solicitor he was an Accredited Specialist in Wills and Estates Law. Craig is a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners.
Anthea Kennedy
Anthea has been in practice as a solicitor since 1992. She has presented seminars and workshops in the areas of Wills and Estates law from 2002 onwards. 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. Anthea is listed in the Doyle’s Guide of Leading Wills & Estates Litigation Lawyers 2021 as Preeminent in Australia and Market Leader in NSW. She is also listed as Pre-eminent in Leading Wills, Estates & Succession Planning Lawyers, NSW in 2021.
Asheetha Jelliffe
Asheetha has 18 years' experience in Wills and Estates Law and became an Accredited Specialist in 2011. Although her main area of practice is in contested estate litigation, including testamentary capacity matters, family provision cases and other estate administration suits, she has utilised that experience in her growing estate planning practice. She also has experience in Elder Law related issues and applying for 'out of the ordinary' grants of probate and letters of administration. Asheetha is a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners. Asheetha has been listed in the 2021 Doyles Guide's lists of Leading Estates Litigation Lawyers and Wills Estates and Succession Planning Lawyers in New South Wales.
Dr Amanda White
Dr White is an endorsed Forensic Psychologist and Clinical Neuropsychologist with extensive training and experience in the preparation of forensic psychological and neuropsychological reports. She is skilled in the comprehensive assessment of cognitive, behavioural and psychological impairments associated with complex histories, multiple comorbidities and a range of conditions, including acquired brain injury, neurodegenerative disorders, psychological and psychiatric illness, neurological conditions, intellectual disability, substance use disorders and forensic matters including risk assessment. She has extensive experience conducting assessments and reports surrounding decision making and capacity evaluations. She has appeared as an expert witness in the NSW courts and various tribunals.
Dr Tasneem Mayat
Dr. Mayat is a geriatrician with particular interests in perioperative care, comprehensive general medical and geriatric reviews, orthogeriatrics, acute geriatrics, falls, frailty, capacity, and cognition assessment and management.
Gerard Basha
Gerard Basha is the head of Bartier Perry’s private clients team. 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, and a Registered Trust and Estate Practitioner with the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP). Doyle’s Guide to the Australian Legal Profession has recognised Gerard as a leading wills & estates litigation lawyer in both NSW and Australia from 2016 to 2022 and as a leading wills & succession planning lawyer from 2017 to 2022.
Dennis Flaherty
Dennis Flaherty was admitted to the NSW Bar in 1982 and has practised continuously at the Sydney Bar since that time. He is experienced in a wide variety of areas of the law including general equity, probate, commercial, and claims for family provision orders. Dennis has been the author of a number of papers in these areas as well as a speaker at numerous seminars
Jane Needham SC
Jane commenced practice as a barrister on 3 August 1990 and was appointed Senior Counsel on 29 September 2004. She was President of the Bar Association of New South Wales from 2014-15 and focused on issues of diversity and inclusion. Jane practises primarily in relation to wills and estates, and has experience in succession planning, charitable trusts, and litigation involving large estates. She also practises in administrative law, and in Royal Commisisons, inquests, and inquiries, usually appearing for large institutions but also as Counsel Assisting. She has been named as a pre-eminent counsel in Wills and Estates by Doyles for 2022, and has a growing practice as a mediator (including having completed training in collaborative practice in wills and estates earlier this year). She is looking to focus on non-litigation work for the coming few years as her younger children complete the HSC in 2024.
Katelin Whitley
Katelin Whitley is the principal of Bestic Law located in Sydney and the Hunter Valley and practices primarily in succession, trust, and property law matters. She was admitted to practice in 2001 and was recognised by the NSW Law Society as an Accredited Wills and Estates Specialist in 2011 and as an Accredited Property Law Specialist in 2021. She works on both simple and high level estate planning and acts on estate administrations including for large and complex estates. She has considerable experience advising and acting on contested estate litigation including lack of testamentary capacity and undue influence cases, family provision claims, construction of will litigation, and application of the Forfeiture Act. Katelin has represented estates, applicants, and beneficiaries. Katelin has completed her Master of Laws at the University of Sydney and Master of Forensic Mental Health in the UNSW School of Psychiatry. She has been lecturing in the College of Law Wills & Estates Master of Applied Law program since 2017, has been a member of the Law Society of the NSW Elder Law and Succession Committee since 2012. Katelin is also a Notary Public and serves as a Council Member with the Society of Notaries of New South Wales Inc.
Venue
Cliftons - Spring Street
Level 3, 10 Spring Street
Sydney 2000
NSW
Australia
Parking Information
Parking not included in you registration. Here are some options below.
Secure Park 20 Bond Street - click here for rates
Wilson Park 1 O'Connell Street - click here for rates
Wilson Park 31 Bond Street - click here for rates
Directions
Nearby Public Transport:
Train Stations - Wynyard 400m OR Martin Place 500m
Bus Interchange - Clarence Street 450m
Ferry - Circular Quay 1.2km