The law is clear that only eligible persons can contest wills.  In NSW eligible persons are defined in s.57 of the Succession Act, the following are eligible persons:

• A spouse or former spouse of the deceased;
• A de-facto (including same sex partner) of the deceased;
• A child (including adopted child) of the deceased;
• A person who was, at any particular time was a dependant (wholly or partially) of the deceased and who is a grandchild or who was a member of the deceased’s household;
• A person the deceased was living in close personal relationship with at the time of death.

Yes.  Under NSW law a claim contesting a will should be commenced within 12 months of death.

The Court has a discretion to permit a claim commenced outside this time, although special reasons need to be established.

Different states have different limitation periods.

To be successful in a claim you must be an eligible person (see above) and be able to satisfy a court that you have not received adequate provision for the proper maintenance, education or advancement of life in the deceased’s will. Each case will be determined on its facts. A court will, in determining the matter, consider the following:

• The adequacy for the provisions for your maintenance, education and advancement of life.
• The circumstances of other eligible persons or beneficiaries under the will.
• The nature and duration of your relationship with the deceased.
• Your circumstances including your financial resources, earning capacity and your health.
• The size of the estate.
• Your relationship with the deceased including the nature and duration of your relationship.
• Any contributions you made both financial and non-financial to the deceased in their lifetime.
• Any provisions the deceased made for you during their lifetime.

The above list is not exhaustive and the court is able to consider any other matters it considers relevant to the determination of the claim.

Claims generally take 6-18 months from when they are commenced to complete.

The first stage is a mediation which generally occurs about 6 months after the claim starts.

If the mediation does not resolve the matter, a final hearing (after preparation of all the evidence) will generally occur about 12 months later.

Yes.

The relevant place is where the assets of the estate are, and where any grant of probate is to be made.

We only accept instructions in family provision claims where we believe there are strong prospects.

We are committed to ensuring that legal costs do not prevent people bringing meritorious claims.  We often act on no win, no fee basis, or on pay at the end basis in family provision matters.

Legal costs are often recovered as part of any settlement.

Prior to commencing any work we would issue a costs disclosure setting out estimates of legal costs in acting.