Will, Estate and Probate Lawyers Perth

We can assist with simple through to highly complex Wills, providing accurate, relevant, and cost-effective advice. Our experienced Wills, Probate and Estate lawyers are experts in their field, and we pride ourselves on providing easy to understand advice, to get you the best outcome.

Preparing a detailed Will can make it so much easier for your family when the time comes. By taking the time to prepare your Will now, you can significantly ease the burden on your loved ones and help them take the necessary steps to carry out you wishes quickly and easily.

There are a few main reasons why a person may need to consider challenging a Will or bringing an inheritance claim. Two of the main reasons are:

• Concerns about the validity of a Will, which could relate to the capacity of the Will maker at the time the Will was prepared and signed, or the circumstances under which the Will came into existence.
• A family member is left with an inadequate inheritance or no inheritance at all.

Our expert Wills, Estate and Inheritance lawyers can help you understand your rights related to challenging a Will or making a claim against an estate and will ensure you get the right advice.

Learn more about the process of challenging a will or making a Family Provision Act claim below or contact Lewis Kitson Lawyers today to discuss your options.

Lewis Kitson Lawyers have extensive experience in all matters relating to Wills and Estates and can assist you if you need to challenge a Will.

In order for a Will to be valid, it must adhere to particular requirements including being signed, dated and witnessed correctly. If a Will does not meet these requirements, it may be that the Will is deemed to be an ‘Informal Will’. Other grounds to consider when deciding whether to challenge the validity of a Will are as follows:

• Did the Will maker have testamentary capacity at all material times.
• Is the Will a genuine document or a forgery.
• Was the Will maker under undue influence at any time during the course of the preparation and execution of the Will.

Lewis Kitson Lawyers will be able to advise you on the best course of action to take and can represent you in Court if necessary. Contact Lewis Kitson Lawyers today to discuss your matter further.

Lewis Kitson Lawyers can provide you with advice and representation if you are considering contesting a Will.

In WA, eligible persons can make a claim under the Family Provision Act if they have been left without adequate provision by a deceased’s Will, or as a consequence of the operation of the Administration Act where a deceased has died without a Will.

GROUNDS FOR CONTESTING A WILL IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA

In WA, a person may contest a Will if:

• They are an eligible person under the Family Provision Act to bring a claim, such as a spouse or child of the deceased; and
• They have been left out of a Will altogether or believe they have received inadequate provision under the terms of the Will.

If you are considering contesting a Will, Lewis Kitson Lawyers can provide you with the advice and representation you need.

FAMILY PROVISION ACT CLAIMS

Lewis Kitson Lawyers can help you to make a family provision claim under the Family Provision Act 1972 (WA). A family provision claim is an application that is filed with the Supreme Court in which the eligible claimant seeks either a share of the estate of a deceased person, or a larger share of the estate of a deceased person than otherwise may already be left to the claimant in the Will.

The Family Provision Act sets out who can apply to the Supreme Court. If you intend to make a claim, you must be an eligible person and, among other things, believe the deceased should have made adequate and proper provision for you in the Will.

Claims under the Family Provision Act are complex and depend on your individual circumstances. Therefore, it is important to consult with a lawyer as soon as possible to discuss the merits of your case. Time is a factor with claims under the Family Provision Act, as any such claim must be made within 6 months of a Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration having been made.

Lewis Kitson Lawyers can provide you with expert advice and guidance throughout the claims process, ensuring you have the best chance of success. Contact us today to arrange a consultation.

Our trusted Probate lawyers can help you with applying for Probate in Western Australia.

Probate is a certificate granted by the Probate Office of the Supreme Court of Western Australia. It means that the deceased’s Will has been approved as being legally valid and that the nominated executor and trustee named in the Will can administer the estate.

Applying for Probate is usually one of the steps you need to take after the passing of a loved one. Our expert Probate Lawyers will help guide you through the process, ensuring there is as little stress as possible for you, during an often difficult time. We help make things efficient and easy to understand, to help ease the burden on you and your family.

(when someone dies without a valid Will, also known as intestacy)

When a loved one passes away without a valid Will, it can be a difficult process to navigate. Our expert Wills and Estate Lawyers help guide you through this process, providing simple, accurate, and cost-effective legal advice.

When a person passes away without a valid Will, you need to apply for a Grant of Letters of Administration. Letters of Administration will allow you to administer the assets of the deceased person even if there isn’t a valid Will. Without a Will, there is no executor appointed, so the legal representative for the estate needs to also be determined in order to determine who will be responsible for dividing up the assets of the deceased person.

Lewis Kitson Lawyers are expert Wills and Estate Lawyers and will help you through the process of applying for Letters of Administration quickly and efficiently, so there is less stress on you and your family.

We know that losing a loved one is a difficult time for you and your family. Our experienced Wills, Estate and Probate Lawyers make the administration of the deceased’s estate fast and easy to understand, to ease the burden on you.

It can, unfortunately, be quite a confusing process to administer a deceased estate, so our team looks after this process for you, so there is one less thing for you to worry about. Our professional and compassionate lawyers will help you navigate the process and provide no-fuss legal advice, to get everything arranged for you.

Our expert Probate Lawyers can help you through the administration of a deceased estate from start to finish and in order to get you through to the final distribution of assets.

Before you can divide and distribute the assets of the estate, you must first determine the true value of the estate by identifying and collecting all of the assets and dealing with the liabilities. You must then refer to the Will to determine which beneficiary the assets are assigned to and once determined, you can inform them of their inheritance.

An Enduring Power of Guardianship is a legal document that allows you to appoint a person you trust with the responsibility to make important lifestyle and medical decisions on your behalf in the event you become incapable of making those decisions for yourself.

When you draw up your Will, our expert Will and Estate Lawyers will help you put together this document as well, so you know the right person will be making decisions about your lifestyle and medical decisions, in the event that you cannot make those decisions yourself.

An Enduring Power of Attorney is a legal document that allows you to appoint a person of your choice to make property and financial decisions on your behalf. There are a variety of cases where this may come into effect, such as if you are overseas or interstate, or if you are in hospital and unable to manage your affairs.

Our expert lawyers can guide you through this process and ensure you have all the right legal advice and documentation to put your Enduring Power of Attorney in place correctly.

A Deed of Family Arrangement allows the beneficiaries to a deceased’s estate to amend the distributions made by a deceased’s Will or confirmed by the laws of intestacy where a deceased has not left a valid Will. The preparation of this document is complex, so we recommend you speak with one of our experienced Wills and Estates lawyers, who can help prepare this important document correctly for you.

A Testamentary Trust established in a Will allows your assets to be distributed to a trustee, who can then hold and pass on distributions from the Testamentary Trust to the beneficiaries of that trust over a period of time and in accordance with the conditions you set.

This allows you to have greater control over how and when your assets are distributed to your beneficiaries. Including a Testamentary Trust in your Will may provide:

• Extra flexibility around distributions.
• Tax benefits to the beneficiaries of the trust.
• Allow you to distribute your assets in the trust over generations.
• Offer protection to and preservation of the assets held in the trust.

There are many ways a Testamentary Trust can be set up in your Will, and there are just as many reasons why you might consider including a Testamentary Trust in your Will. Our Wills lawyers can help you get this set up correctly.

(commonly known as ‘Living Wills’)

An advance health directive, also known as a living will, allows you to confirm what treatment decisions you do and do not consent to in circumstances where you cannot communicate those decisions for yourself. Therefore, an advance health directive can help to inform everyone about what treatment decisions you would want to be made if you can’t make them yourself. It is a legal document in which a person specifies what actions should be taken for their health if they are no longer able to make decisions for themselves because of illness or incapacity.

Our Wills and Estate Lawyers will meet with you to discuss your situation and create an advance health directive that is suitable for you.