Deceased Estates

We don’t dabble, we specialise in estate law…

Estate law is complex, so following the death of a loved one, it’s important that the Will of the deceased is taken to a lawyer at Kelly Kelly Legal as early as possible.

Estate administration

If you are the named executor, we can assist to provide you with clear direction as to what steps to take in order to fulfil your duties and obligations correctly.

We have successfully assisted hundreds of executors to obtain a Grant of Probate.

If you need assistance applying for Probate or with other estate administration matters, contact Kelly Kelly Legal today.

Estate litigation

The Will of a deceased person can be contested on a number of grounds including:

• Whether or not a Will is valid.
  • Issues can arise if the deceased did not have legal capacity (was not of sound mind) when they made the Will or they may have been influenced or pressured by someone into making or changing their Will.
• You have not been adequately provided for in the Will. Close relatives can be eligible to contest the Will, including:
  • the spouse of the deceased person;
  • a person who has been divorced from the deceased person;
  • the domestic partner of the deceased person;
  • a child of the deceased person;
  • a child of a spouse or domestic partner of the deceased person being a child who was maintained wholly or partly or who was legally entitled to be maintained wholly or partly by the deceased person immediately before his/her death;
  • a child of the child of the deceased person;
  • a parent of the deceased person who satisfies the court that they cared for, or contributed to the maintenance of, the deceased person during their lifetime;
  • a brother or sister of the deceased person who satisfies the court that they cared for, or contributed to the maintenance of, the deceased person during their lifetime.

Kelly Kelly Legal can provide you with advice if you feel you have been unfairly provided for or if you want to challenge the validity of the deceased’s Will.

Strict time limits apply to challenging a Will and we therefore recommend that you do not delay in making an appointment to obtain legal advice.

Estate Services

Kelly Kelly Legal offer a range of Estate services including:

• Probate
• Estate Administration
• Letters of Administration (when someone dies without a Will)
• Deeds of Family Arrangement (when the beneficiaries agree to distribute the estate in a manner that is different from the Will)
• Winding up a deceased estate
• Insolvency in estates
• Defending a Will
• Challenging a Will
• Advice in relation to your role as an Executor
• Assistance to ensure that the taxation reporting for deceased estates and beneficiaries is undertaken
• Deceased estates and superannuation