Succession Law News, New South Wales, January 2010
The Succession Amendment (Intestacy) Act 2009 (NSW) brings several changes to the Succession Act 2006 (NSW) with respect to the estates where the deceased does not leave a valid will [an "intestate" estate]. Key changes include:
- The Succession Act no longer draws a distinction between the entitlements of "half-blood" siblings as compared to "full-blood" siblings to the property of an intestate deceased's estate.
- Cousins of the deceased are now entitled to inherit where no other close relatives exist.
- Entitlements of spouses of an intestate have changed. Formerly, where the deceased had both a marital spouse and a de facto spouse at the time of their death, only one such spouse was entitled to inherit and took the whole of the deceased's estate. Under the new framework, both spouses may share in the estate in certain circumstances.
- The new statutory scheme increases the "spouse legacy" to $350,000.00 (indexed from 1 January 2006).
- The Succession Act now provides a new definition of "personal effects" in Section 61A(2), which supersedes the existing definition of "household chattels". Personal effects are defined to exclude property employed solely for business purposes, as well as currency and precious metals or stones invested in for "hedging" purposes.
- Where the spouse of an intestate deceased was previously permitted to elect only to receive the matrimonial home, this right has been extended to all the property of the estate, and has also been extended to de facto spouses of the deceased.
- Children of the deceased, where the deceased is survived by a spouse, are now entitled to inherit only where such children are not also children of the surviving spouse, but are children of the deceased from another relationship.
These changes follow other changes to the laws governing wills and estates which have occurred over the past 2 years and on which we would be happy to assist you.
Please contact us if you have any enquiries about making a will or if you are involved in the estate of another person. We will be pleased to assist you and answer your questions.