Contest a Will – Children and Stepchildren
CONTESTING A WILL: ISSUES FOR CHILDREN AND STEP-CHILDREN WHO WISH TO CONTEST A WILL
| The contents of this page is general information only and should not be considered to be legal advice. It does not take into account the many variations in the laws between the various Australian States. You should obtain your own legal advice applicable to your own personal situation. |
Regardless of how old you are or the nature of your relationship, losing a parent is never easy. You may be required to assist with winding up their affairs at the same time as you are dealing with your grief.
What happens if your parent left you out of their Will? What if they left their entire estate to your step-parent?
If you are a step-child who has lost your step-parent with whom you have lived your entire life, what do you do?
Do you have rights to contest the Will in any of these circumstances? How difficult is it to contest a Will, and should you do it?
In this site, the term “step-child” means a person whose parent has married some-one who is not their parent (i.e. a person whose parent married the step parent) and the step-child was never adopted by that step-parent. The step-child may or may not have lived with their step-parent at some stage.
This site aims to provide the answers to some of these questions. Please note that this is a guide only and you should speak to CWPL for advice on your individual circumstances: the law varies from State to State..
For general information on how to contest the validity of a Will, click here.
If you believe that you may have grounds to contest a Will of a parent or step-parent, or simply wish to find out more, you should contact a lawyer as soon as possible, as a failure to act quickly could have serious ramifications for you. You should be able to get preliminary advice over the phone.
Useful Articles:
- Who is considered to be a “child” of the deceased?
- What if the deceased parent changed his/her Will after the earlier death of their spouse?
- What if no provision is made in the Will for a child of the deceased or if it is much smaller than everyone else’s?
- What happens if the time limit is missed?
- I am a child of the deceased: am I eligible to challenge the Will?
- I am a step-child of the deceased: am I eligible to challenge the Will?
- What must be shown to prove that reasonable financial provision has not been made?
- Is a child or step-child entitled to a share of the deceased’s superannuation fund?
- What if the deceased dies without a Will?
Common Questions
CWPL can easily answer these common questions for You:
- Am I entitled to contest the Will, and claim for more?
- What is the value of the asset pool in the estate?
- Can CWPL boost the pool with assets that were disposed of on or before death?
- How do I claim additional rights e.g. my share of the home and pension entitlements?
- What is the legal effect of the Will on me?
- How am I affected if the Will is invalid such as due to Undue Influence?
CWPL: NOT a traditional law firm
