About Us

Our team of Lawyers in Cairns have experience in all aspects of Wills and Estate law with a particular focus on:

• Will and Estate planning
• Estate administration
• Will disputes (both challenging and defending Wills)

Some of our notable experience and achievements in these areas are listed below:

Will and Estate Planning

• Acting for more than 2000 people in the preparation of their Wills
• Advising a high net worth individual in respect to the preparation of an Estate plan for his $10 million personal worth, including:
• Restructuring of Family Trusts to facilitate the passing of benefits
• Transfer of control upon his death
• Binding Death Benefit Nominations in respect to his Superannuation Fund
• The restructure of asset holdings prior to his passing so as to best achieve tax-effective holdings
• Drafting of a Testamentary Trust to best achieve taxation and asset protection for his Beneficiaries
• Restructure of a Will drawn by another law firm in circumstances where the original Will would have resulted in a $350,000 adverse tax consequence for the Beneficiaries of the estate
• Provision of Accountant’s advice to Will makers regarding the restructure of their asset holdings prior to their passing so as to achieve the best taxation outcomes for their loved ones and Beneficiaries

Estate Administration

• Acting for an Executor of an Estate comprising six cattle properties with a total value of more than $40 million
• Acting in respect of more than 300 Executors with respect to the administration of as many Estates
• Acting for an Executor of a multi-million dollar Estate over a period of nine years involving:
• The Executor being appointed as Trustee of the Will maker’s various trusts
• The sale of commercial property assets
• The distribution of capital gains through both the Estate and various Trusts to Beneficiaries so as to achieve the most tax effective outcome for the Beneficiaries of the Estate
• The resistance of proceedings by the Will maker’s spouse and subsequent Non-Party Action by the spouse

Will Disputes

• Acting for the son in respect of a provision claim involving an Estate of more than $7 million. The action was resolved on the basis of our client (who was otherwise left out of the Will) receiving a $700,000 gift
• Acting for Executors in successfully resisting a provision application by two adult children
• Acting for a Beneficiary at a trial and subsequently an appeal in respect of her father’s Estate. At the trial, we were successful in obtaining our client a greater share of her father’s Estate than her father had left her, and the appeal was likewise resolved successfully in our client’s favour
• Acting for an Executor in resisting proceedings brought by an acquaintance of the Will maker asserting a more significant relationship than that which existed and the resistance of proceedings for which the third party was seeking to recover in excess of $1.5 million in assets. The proceedings were resolved successfully with the Beneficiary challenger accepting a fraction of the amount that she sought in her proceedings
• Acting for a son and Executor in proceedings commenced seeking orders in respect of his late father’s Will involving determinations of:
• Direct assets of the Estate including orders regarding certain loan accounts and bank accounts exceeding a million dollars in value, declarations regarding the condition of his father’s mental state at the time the Will was made
• Investigating and considering the prospects of taking proceedings against his father’s Attorney on account of the transaction that was undertaken by the Attorney prior to his father passing