Wills & Estates Conference: Updates, Planning & Disputes
Hone your skills and strategies for dealing with disputes and other complex issues that arise in your Wills & Estates practice with this in-depth seminar. Hear a succession update and tips on drafting affidavits in family provision claims. Learn more about promissory estoppel and how constructive and resulting trusts arise. Unpack tips to mitigate legal issues in the administration of complex estates and strategies to deal with elder abuse and removing executors. 246N03
Description
Attend and earn 7 CPD units including:
6 units in Substantive Law
1 unit in Professional Skills
This program is based on NSW legislation
Session 1
Legal Updates and Practical Strategies for Managing Disputes
Chair: Kim Boettcher, Barrister, Frederick Jordan Chambers
9.00am to 10.00am Succession Roundup: Latest Developments Over the Past 12 Months
- Legal framework surrounding testamentary capacity
- Legal tenets for the construction and rectification of wills
- What you need to know about family provision applications
Presented by Justine Taylor, Principal Director, Uther Webster & Evans; Leading Wills & Estates Litigation Lawyer – NSW and Australia, Doyle’s Guide 2023
10.00am to 11.00am Exploring Equitable Claims in Estate Disputes
- Legal underpinnings of constructive and resulting trusts and promissory estoppel
- An update on recent case law
- Practical tips and strategies
Presented by Leah Sewell, Consultant, Glass Goodwin; Accredited Specialist in Wills and Estates Law
11.00am to 11.15am Morning Tea
Professional Skills
11.15am to 12.15pm Avoiding the Perils of Poorly Drafted Affidavits in Family Provision Claims
- Advanced approaches for initiating family provision claims
- Determining what should or should not be included in an affidavit and the principles guiding material selection
- Evidentiary factors taken into account by the Court when making a family provision order
- Admissibility of conversations recorded without consent
- Recent criticism: use of direct speech in affidavit evidence
- Full and frank disclosure of financial and material circumstances
- Expert evidence (valuation, medical or other) in the context of family provision claims
Presented by Asheetha Jelliffe, Partner, Bridges Lawyers; Accredited Specialist in Wills and Estates Law; Preeminent Wills & Estates Litigation Lawyer – NSW, Doyle’s Guide 2023
12.15pm to 1.15pm Rights of Minors: Dodging Major Problems in Estate Administration and Disputes
- Complexities surrounding appointing minor executors
- Protection of a minor's entitlement in a deceased estate
- Appointment of tutors and Court approval of settlements
Presented by Jennifer Vuu, Senior Associate, HWL Ebsworth; Wills, Estates & Succession Planning Law Rising Stars – NSW & ACT, Doyle's Guide 2023
Session 2
Strategies for Dealing with Elder Abuse, Executor Dynamics and Complex Administration
Chair: Asheetha Jelliffe, Partner, Bridges Lawyers; Accredited Specialist in Wills and Estates Law; Preeminent Wills & Estates Litigation Lawyer – NSW, Doyle’s Guide 2023
2.00pm to 3.00pm Navigating Elder Abuse Claims
- Fiduciary duties within familial relationships
- Legal obligations and ethical responsibilities associated with caring for the elderly
- Remedies for elder abuse including claims for:
- Breach of fiduciary duty and elder abuse in the absence of (where there is a power of attorney)
- Unconscionable conduct
- Undue influence
Presented by Monica Ross-Maranik, Consulting Principal, Keypoint Law; Accredited Specialist - Wills and Estates; Leading Wills & Estates Litigation Lawyers – NSW, Doyle's Guide 2023
3.00pm to 4.00pm Navigating Executor Disputes and Challenges: Conduct, Conflict and Removal
- Duties and challenges of executors
- The distinction between the removal of executors and passing over executors
- Grounds for the removal of executors: exploring the reasons why executors may be considered unfit and removed from their role
- Sparring executors: disputes between co-executors
- Recent cases
Presented by Maree Harris, Special Counsel, de Groots; Recommended Wills & Estates Litigation Lawyer – NSW, Doyle’s Guide 2023
4.00pm to 4.15pm Afternoon Tea
4.15pm to 5.15pm Unwinding the Estate Plan: Wrapping up Complex Administration and Mitigating Legal Challenges
- Administering estates involving multiple entities
- How tax issues can shape the administration plan
- Dealing with misplaced trust deeds and other trust-related problems
- Navigating trust vesting and the rule in Saunders v Vautier
- Best practice for finalising distribution of estates and trusts
Presented by Isabel McLelland, Senior Associate, Teece Hodgson & Ward
Presenters
Kim Boettcher, Barrister, Frederick Jordan Chambers
Kim is a Barrister at Frederick Jordan Chambers in Sydney. Kim practises in Equity, Common Law, Protective and Guardianship Law, and in the Probate and Succession List. Prior to coming to the Bar, she practised as a Solicitor in commercial and civil litigation law in England and Wales, New South Wales and Queensland. More recently, she was a Solicitor at the Seniors Rights Service, an independent legal centre and regularly attended the UN Open-ended Working Group on Ageing in New York as a civil society representative. Kim was appointed to the NSW Minister of Fair Trading’s Retirement Villages Advisory Council in 2013 and also to the Minister’s Expert Committee on Retirement Villages Standard Contract Terms and Disclosure Documents in 2011. Kim was a Member of the inaugural Legal Services Council in 2014 and reappointed from 2017-2020. She is a past Treasurer of the International Commission of Jurists Australia and was appointed to the NSW Bar Association’s Succession and Protective Law Committee in 2021, 2022 and 2023.
Justine Taylor, Principal Director, Uther Webster & Evans
Justine is an accredited specialist in wills & estates and has been listed by Doyles as Recommended and Leading Wills & Estates Litigation Lawyer across NSW and Australia. Justine joined Uther Webster & Evans in 2004 and holds a Bachelor of Laws (First Class Honours) and Bachelor of Psychology. Justine is a Principal Director at Uther, Webster & Evans with her primary practice and passion in the area of estate planning and estate litigation, including complex wills, probate, contested estate litigation, protective list applications, general equity, estoppel and trusts.
Leah Sewell, Principal, Accredited Specialist in Wills and Estates Law, LS Legal
Leah Sewell was admitted as a solicitor in 2002, an Accredited Specialist in Wills & Estates and recognised by Doyle’s Guide in 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 in estate litigation and ran her own firm from 2012 to 2023. Leah is also a Trusts & Estates Practitioner with STEP and elected committee member to the Mental Capacity Special Interest Group (SIG) of STEP. Leah’s practice covers all areas of wills and estates and elder law, including estate planning, estate disputes, trusts, unconscionable conduct, and protective list matters.
Asheetha Jelliffe, Partner, Accredited Specialist in Wills and Estates Law, Bridges Lawyers
Asheetha was admitted to practice in 2003. She has 20 years' experience in Wills and Estates Law and became an Accredited Specialist in 2011. She is appointed by the Law Society of NSW as a member of the Advisory Committee for Specialist Accreditation in Wills and Estates. Although her main area of practice is in contested estate litigation, including testamentary capacity matters, family provision cases and other trust and 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 has been appointed as a Court Appointed Administrator for estates. She is a regular presenter at seminars and workshops in the areas of Wills and Estates law. Asheetha is a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners. Asheetha has been listed in the 2023 Doyles Guide's lists of Preeminent Estates Litigation Lawyers and Leading Wills Estates and Succession Planning Lawyers in New South Wales.
Jennifer Vuu, Senior Associate, HWL Ebsworth
Jennifer is an Accredited Specialist in Wills and Estates Law (NSW). She is an experienced practitioner in the areas of estate planning, probate and estate administration, estate litigation and trusts. Jennifer advises and works directly with a diverse range of private clients, charitable organisations, insurers, and financial institutions. Jennifer holds a Master of Laws (Applied Law majoring in Wills and Estates) from the College of Law and is a registered Trust and Estate Practitioner with The Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP). In 2022 and 2023, Jennifer was recognised by Doyle's Guide as a Wills, Estates & Succession Planning Rising Star in NSW & ACT. Jennifer regularly authors articles on succession law and has presented seminars to the profession for The Law Society of NSW, UNSW, STEP and The Blue Mountains Regional Law Society. She is also a consulting editor for CCH / Wolters Kluwer in respect of its Estate Planning & Trusts Law publication.
Monica Ross-Maranik, Consulting Principal, Keypoint Law
Monica is an accredited specialist in wills and estates law in NSW, working predominately in estate litigation, probate, estate administration and estate planning. She has over 25 years’ practise in the field, including extensive experience conducting high profile litigation which she undertakes with compassion and strategic reasoning. Monica’s areas of expertise include: Wills and estate planning, Contested probate litigation, Family provision litigation, Probate and estate administration, Other estate and equity litigation, Trusts and trust litigation, Enduring powers of attorney, Enduring guardianships and Protective jurisdiction advice and litigation including court authorised wills. Monica holds a Master of Laws from Sydney University, and is a current member of the International Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP).
Isabel McLelland, Senior Associate, Teece Hodgson & Ward
Isabel was admitted as a lawyer of the Supreme Court of New South Wales in 2015, after graduating from the University of Technology, Sydney with a Bachelor of Laws with First Class Honours. Her Honours Thesis was on testamentary undue influence. A large focus of Isabel’s practice is complex estate planning and advice in relation to trusts. She also acts for executors and beneficiaries in relation to estate matters, including probate applications, construction of wills, and estate administration disputes. She has run Supreme Court proceedings for both private clients and charities to resolve trust-related issues and disputes. Isabel has also acted for both plaintiffs and defendants in estate litigation, including family provision and contested probate matters. Isabel has been recognised by Doyle’s Guide in the area of wills and estates, and has won multiple Lawyers Weekly awards. Isabel enjoys sharing wills and estates knowledge with other professionals, clients and the public. She has conducted workshops for charity organisations, as well as for probate registrars and judges of the Supreme Court. Isabel joined Teece Hodgson and Ward in 2022, and acts in both contentious and non-contentious matters relating to wills, estates and trusts.
Maree Harris, Special Counsel, de Groots
Maree Harris holds Bachelor of Laws and Commerce degrees from the University of New South Wales. In 2009, Maree was admitted as a solicitor in New South Wales. Maree is Special Counsel at de Groots wills and estate lawyers in Sydney. Since 2012, Maree has worked exclusively in wills and estates, acting in a range of estate litigation, Probate, estate administration and estate planning matters. Her primary focus has been on estate litigation matters, including family provision applications, contested Probate matters, will validity claims, and estate administration disputes. Maree is on the editorial board of the Wills Probate and Administration Practice (New South Wales) text authored by John de Groot and the Family Provision in Australia text authored by John de Groot and Bruce Nickel. In 2023, Maree completed her collaborative law training. Maree was named in the 2023 Doyle’s Guide as a recommended lawyer in the NSW estate litigation category.
Venue
Cliftons - Margaret St
Level 13, 60 Margaret St
Sydney 2000
NSW
Australia
Parking not included with registration. Possible options:
Met Centre, Jamison St - Rates Click here
Amora Hotel - Rates Click here
Secure Park 20 Bond St - Rates Click here