Wills and Estate Lawyers

Davoren Associates are the Wills and Estate Lawyers you can trust. As Gold Coast Lawyers who have been in business for over thirty years, you can be sure our Wills and Estate Lawyers have the experience to provide you with high-quality Wills and Estate legal advice.

It is vital to you, and your family, that you understand the importance of legal Wills. Legal Wills make sure your assets will pass to those family members and friends that you intend to benefit. You can nominate a Trustee to administer your affairs, a Guardian to take care of any infant children, and give your personal effects and family heirlooms to loved ones upon your death. You can also nominate your burial or cremation wishes. Without legal Wills, your Estate is managed according to the Successions Act and your personal wishes, in most cases, will not be met. Legal Wills also assists your family, who will know exactly what your wishes are, easing the burden on them during their difficult time. Most Wills are relatively simple to prepare and incur only a small fee from us. More extensive Wills can be prepared including Testamentary Trusts, Estate planning and Tax minimisation in large estates.

Managing the Estate of a deceased family member can be harrowing. Davoren Associates Wills & Estate Lawyers can assist in the prompt and careful distribution of assets to the beneficiaries. We have extensive experience in managing Estates including obtaining Probate or Letters of Administration, distributing assets and finalising affairs.

Enduring Power of Attorney

At Davoren Associates our Gold Coast Lawyers know it is important that you have an Enduring Power of Attorney. An Enduring Power of Attorney provides you with the ability to give a trusted person the authority to make decisions on your behalf about financial and/or health matters. An Enduring Power of Attorney is very effective in the event that you are not able to manage your own affairs (for example if you have a stroke or are in hospital or you are overseas and need to sell property). It will be necessary to appoint an Attorney to do this for you, this is done by making an Enduring Power of Attorney.

Our experienced Gold Coast Solicitors can discuss with you how you can limit the powers you give to your Attorney and how your Attorney is to manage your affairs on your behalf. You can nominate when you would like for your Enduring Power of Attorney to commence for example immediately or upon you loosing capacity. At Davoren Associates we understand that making an Enduring Power of Attorney before you need it, will avoid significant difficulties when your family are required to make decisions about your assets and medical care if you are unable to make the decisions on your own behalf. If something should happen to you and you do not have an Enduring Power of Attorney your family members will not have the legal ability to make the necessary decisions regarding your welfare without having to apply to a Tribunal for an order appointing them as Attorney/Guardian.

Your Will does not cover circumstances that may arise if you become incapacitated and need assistance. Your Will only applies when you die. Your Attorney is different to the  Executor mentioned in your Will, however you can appoint the same person for both positions if you wish. An Enduring Power of Attorney is only effective whilst you are alive and your Will is only effective once you have died. At Davoren Associates our experienced Gold Coast Lawyers can help guide you through the legalities of an Enduring Power of Attorney and assist you in making the right choices. Contact our experienced Gold Coast Solicitors now to organise an appointment.

Advance in health directive

An Advance Health Directive allows you to communicate your wishes about what medical treatment you may or may not want in the event you are unable to make the decisions for yourself, i.e whether or not you wish to be resuscitated, have blood transfusions, be put on life support (mechanical ventilation), involuntary feeing and antibiotics.  It takes the burden off your family or close friends to make these decisions without knowing your wishes. Advance Health Directives should be made in addition to your Enduring Power of Attorney as the Advance Health Directive details your specific wishes in relation to health matters.  Powers given, under a Power of Attorney for health matters are limited and do not allow for decisions to be made to either continue or withhold life sustaining treatment.

Estates and Estate Disputes

At Davoren Associates, our Wills and Estate Lawyers understand the stress and uncertainty that the passing of a loved one can bring to a family. It can be a trying time for all involved, that's why it is essential to seek quality legal advice before administering the Estate.

This is especially important if you have been appointed as Executor of the deceased’s Will. If you have been appointed an Executor of an Estate you are responsible for the oversight of its administration and the Estate must be administered in a prudent manner which serves the best interests of the beneficiaries. If the deceased died without leaving a Will (or a valid Will), the deceased is said to have died Intestate. If this occurred, then the rules of Intestacy will apply to the distribution of the Estate. At Davoren Associates our experienced Estate Lawyers have extensive experience in managing Estate or Intestate Estates including the prompt collection of all assets, careful distribution of assets to the beneficiaries pursuant to the Will (or in accordance with the rules of Intestacy) and finalising the affairs of the Estate.

Davoren Associates can assist you on any matter relating to your Estate queries. Depending upon the size and nature of the Estate assets it may be necessary to apply to the Supreme Court for a Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration (if the deceased died without a Will or valid Will). As the requirements for obtaining either a Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration can be quite complex and technical, our experience Estate Lawyers will be able to assist you in making the necessary applications to the Supreme Court. At Davoren Associates we can take you through this process smoothly, efficiently and cost effectively. It is highly recommended that you seek legal assistance to administer an Estate and Davoren Associates will be able to streamline this process for you. Our Estate Lawyers will ensure that the correct procedures are adhered too, ensuring the Administration of the Estate is without delays or addition expenses.

Estate Disputes – Family Provision Applications

Davoren Associates can assist you in the complex area of Estate Disputes.  Even though a Will sets out a persons last wishes of how they want to distribute their Estate, others may not always be entirely happy with the distribution. For example where a child has been favoured over their siblings, where the surviving spouse has been left out or where everything has been left to charity at the exclusion of the family. Circumstances such as these can lead family members to contesting the Will and bringing a claim against the Estate for adequate and proper maintenance. This is commonly known as a Family Provision Application.

Estates Disputes can be a very difficult area of law to understand and navigate through. At Davoren Associates we believe that obtaining the correct advice from our Estate Dispute Lawyers is important for many reasons.

Who can bring a claim?

There are only certain categories of people who can make a Family Provision Application pursuant to section 41 of the Succession Act 1981 (QLD) (“the Act”). The categories of eligible persons are limited to:

- A spouse (including a husband, wife, de facto partner, a former spouse who was still dependant upon the deceased for maintenance). - A child (including biological, step-child or adoptive child).- A dependant (including a person who was wholly or partially dependant upon the deceased at the time of their death and can include a parent of the deceased, a parent of the deceased’s child under the age of 18 years or a person who is under the age of 18 years).

Time limits

There are strict time limits for bring a Family Provision Application. Notice of the intention to bring a claim against the Estate must be given to the Executor of the Will within six (6) months of the deceased’s death and the application must be filed in either the District Court or the Supreme Court within nine (9) months of the death of the deceased. If you fail to bring a claim within these time limits your opportunity to contest the Will may be lost. Ordinarily the court will not grant an extension of time to bring a Family Provision Application unless there are very good reasons for not bringing the application within the time limits. At Davoren Associates we can assist you in ensuring that all matters are dealt with in the correct time frame. If you believe that you have a claim to an Estate, then contact Davoren Associates immediately to obtain quality advice which will set you in the right direction.

Issues that are considered

To bring a Family Provision Application, the court will need to look very carefully at the merits of the claim against the Estate and will take into consideration:

- The size of the Estate. - The last testamentary wishes of the deceased (how the estate was intended to be distributed under the Will). - The strength of the Applicant’s claim on the estate (including the financial situation of the Applicant, the health position of the Applicant, the relationship between the Applicant and the deceased and the character and conduct of the Applicant particularly if there was any disentitling conduct by the Applicant). - The position of the beneficiaries of the Will (including the financial situation/s of each beneficiary, the health position/s of the beneficiaries and the relationship between the beneficiaries and the deceased).- The needs of the Applicant compared to the needs of the beneficiaries in the Will.

Just because a claim is brought against an Estate does not necessarily mean that it will succeed and the wishes of the deceased are not carried out. The starting point for the distribution of an Estate is usually considered by the Court to be the deceased’s last Will, there is no standard scale of distribution between family members for example a 50/50 split between two siblings. Each claim is assessed individually on its own facts.

Don't wait, contact us today!

At Davoren Associates our Wills and Estate Lawyers are able to assist you in bringing an application against an Estate or assist in defending a claim against an Estate if you are an Executor or a beneficiary of a Will being contested. Our Gold Coast Solicitors team at Davoren Associates has extensive knowledge of Wills and Estate disputes and will be able to provide you with up to date and helpful advice in your time of need.

Our experienced Gold Coast Solicitors will assist you with providing quality advice in this area of law. You may have many issues to discuss with our Solicitors and we would encourage you to make an appointment to see Mr Michael Coman or Ms Ambre Langdown.

Whatever your legal query, contact Davoren Associates or visit our Mermaid Beach office to obtain solid advice at a reasonable price.

At Davoren Associates, our dedicated Gold Coast Solicitors offer a wide range of legal services for both individuals and businesses alike. Whatever your legal issue, our Solicitors and support staff will strive to provide you with the best possible result.