Elder law & succession: August 2026
Cases highlighting the complexities of identifying beneficiaries, construing wills and distributing superannuation death benefits among competing claimants.
By Darryl Browne - 2 min read
Estoppel as a sword: Exploring proprietary estoppel
Proprietary estoppel can be used as a sword to enforce a promise. Practitioners should be mindful of the circumstances where it may exist.
By Darryl Browne - 2 min read
Duel to the death: De facto relationships and disputes over inheritance
Spouses obtain preferential entitlement on intestacy. Determining the existence of a de facto relationship is a complex exercise.
By Jennifer Vuu - 2 min read
Unscrambling the Oomidoodle’s egg
High Court in Hill v Zuda clarifies that reg 6.17A of the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Regulation 1994 does not apply to a self managed super funds.
By Darryl Browne - 3 min read
Cognitive decline and decision-making in guardianship matters
A lack of insight by a person into their cognitive impairment often interferes with their ability to judge the actions of others in guardianship disputes.
By Dr Jane Lonie - 2 min read
A tale of two Stanfords: blended families and family provision claims
Two unrelated cases of Stanford v Stanford illustrate the intersection of family, succession and arguably elder law in a blended family context.
By Richard McCullagh - 2 min read
Treating Doctor Reports: retrospective mental capacity cases
The importance of contemporaneous medical evidence and treating doctor opinion in mental capacity cases.
By Hayley Bennett and Alisa Green - 2 min read
A triumph for residents of retirement villages
Vulnerable residents prevail in first judicial consideration of s 182G of the Retirement Villages Act.
By Laina Chan - 2 min read
Time to dust off the contracts: NSW retirement village laws are changing
Retirement village contracts under review after new laws passed in response to the Greiner Inquiry.
By Tanya Chapman - 3 min read
Failed granny flat arrangements
Salutary lessons from granny flat arrangements gone wrong.
By Richard McCullagh and Darryl Browne - 2 min read
Rethinking the presumption of advancement in contemporary Australia
What we can learn from the Canadian approach to the presumption of advancement. By KRASA BOZINOVSKA
By Krasa Bozinovska - 2 min read