Who can make a claim against my Estate after my death?

I am constantly amazed by claimants (usually children of the Deceased) who believe that they can neglect or ignore the deceased over 20 or 30 years and immediately they realise that their late parent has cut them out of the will they make a claim against the Estate.

Normally they admit that they hadn’t spoken to their late parent for decades but they blame the long period of estrangement on their Deceased Parent.

They will say

“I tried to get on with Dad but he refused to see me.”

“I tried to reconcile with Mum but she told me to get out of her house.”

They also make sure that their alleged attempts at reconciliation cannot be verified. So they say that they never telephoned or emailed their estranged parent. They simply state that on a regular basis they would “turn up” at their estranged parent’s house but their parent refused to see them. Of course, no-one else was around to witness this event.

Such events cannot be proven by the claimant but also cannot be disproven by the Estate.

It is important that a Will maker consider the possibility of a claim being made by an estranged child (or other claimant) and provide evidence by way of a statutory declaration or affidavit setting out all dealings that the Will maker has had with the potential claimant since estrangement occurred including how the potential claimant has poorly treated the Will Maker.

Such a document can be as important as the Will itself and should be drafted by a lawyer.

Dr Darren Catton has the experience to help your Estate avoid claims after your gone. Call today on 1300 299 997