Wills and Estates
With offices in Brunswick and Preston, our estates lawyers advise and represent clients in estate disputes, contested wills, probate applications, estate planning, preparation of wills & powers of attorney, guardianship applications, and estate administration.
Jason Falzon, senior Wills and Estates Lawyer, is the head of our Estates Department. With over 7 years’ Estates Law experience, he gives good advice, talks straights with his clients and is firm with his adversaries. He charges his clients fairly and is honest about their case prospects, strategies and costs.
We have a proven record of contesting wills successfully on behalf of beneficiaries treated unfairly and those excluded altogether.
Jason regularly assists testators to prepare wills and estate plans. He also represents executors to obtain grants of probate and to defend estates from unmeritorious claims.
Straight Talking Lawyers
We are no-nonsense Estates Lawyers in Preston and Brunswick who talk straight with our clients and tough with our opponents. We charge fairly and we know how to fight when needed.
Our legal services are high quality, our advice is clear, and we are transparent with costs. Our clients have direct access to their lawyer, not just their assistant.
We are a reliable established firm in the Northern suburbs offering a refreshingly direct approach to the practice of law. Each of our lawyers works exclusively in one practice area and comes to our firm with substantial experience.
Our clients can expect to:
- Receive good advice and firm representation from an experienced estates lawyer.
- Have access to our professional network of experts and legal minds.
- Feel comfortable and supported in our collaborative and judgment-free legal practice environment.
Better lawyers
With offices in Brunswick and Preston, Elvin Lawyers is a firm of like minded lawyers brought together by a passion for justice, a no-nonsense approach to legal practice, and a genuine desire to do better for our clients.
Jackie Smith, Louie Elsoukmani, Matthew Elvin and Jason Falzon are seasoned lawyers, equally as comfortable in the heat of litigation as they are in crafting meticulous agreements.
Case highlights
“In the absence of clear and satisfactory proof, the court cannot be satisfied that the deceased knew and approved of the contents of the Will.” – Judge McMillan, 17 May 2021
- In a 2022 VCAT case VNH (Guardianship) [2022] VCAT 379 Elvin Lawyers relied on expert neuropsychological evidence to persuade the Tribunal to overturn a 2021 Power of Attorney and instead uphold a 2017 Power of Attorney made by Elvin Lawyers’ client.
- In a 2022 Supreme Court case Elvin Lawyers won an appeal, overturning an earlier Magistrates’ Court judgment regarding breaches of Overarching Obligations.
- In a 2021 Supreme Court case, Elvin Lawyers and a barrister persuaded the Court to overturn a deceased’s Will. This ruling meant that Elvin Lawyers’ client received considerably more from the deceased estate.
- In a 2021 Supreme Court case Elvin Lawyers made a hard fought and complex application to dismiss a Court proceeding for ‘abuse of process’. Unfortunately that application was not successful and that proceeding is continuing.
- In a 2020 Supreme Court case Elvin Lawyers successfully defended a summary judgment application.
- In a 2020 County Court case, Elvin Lawyers persuaded the Court to dismiss the case against their client.
- In a 2019 VCAT case, Elvin Lawyers persuaded the Tribunal to revoke the administration order previously placed on their client.
- In a 2019 (unreported judgment) Magistrates’ Court proceeding, Elvin Lawyers successfully defended a summary judgment application against their client.
- In a 2018 case, Elvin Lawyers with Counsel persuaded the Tribunal to order the other parties return valuable tools and machinery to Elvin Lawyers’ client.
Wills
A will is a document prepared by the will maker (‘the testator’) directing an executor how to distribute the testator’s estate after their death. The terms of a will are often successfully contested, usually by one or more family members of the deceased testator. Reasons for contesting a will include:
- Unequal distribution of assets between (or the exclusion of) children as beneficiaries in a will.
- Uncertainty about the validity of a will for technical reasons.
- A will prepared by a person after they have shown signs of dementia.
- A will prepared by a person in their final few days of life.
- Poor choice of executor(s) in a will.
- Poor choice of the distribution of specific assets in a will.
- Use of onerous conditions on the vesting of gifts to beneficiaries in a will.
You can mitigate the risk of a claim against your will or estate by thinking your will through, obtaining advice, and planning the disposition of your assets.
Powers of attorney
A power of attorney (‘POA’) is a legally binding document signed by a person (‘the Principal’) giving another person (‘the Attorney’) control over the Principal’s financial, personal, and legal affairs. Importantly, a Principal can only sign a POA while they have decision making capacity.
Unfortunately POAs are often invalid for technical reasons. Banks and other institutions will not accept an invalid POA. If the Principal loses decision making capacity before the Attorney discovers the invalidity, it is too late to make a new POA.
An Attorney with an invalid POA will need to apply to VCAT for a determination about who controls the Principal’s affairs. If more than one person wants control, the dispute becomes costly and protracted.
VCAT usually holds multiple hearings and appoints the Office of the Public Advocate to investigate. The parties and their lawyers often also obtain medical reports, subpoena witnesses, and make written submissions for VCAT’s consideration.
Many of these disputes could have been avoided if the POA had been properly prepared.
Estate disputes
Most wills and estate disputes resolve by negotiation prior to Court proceedings. Disputes that proceed to Court are costly to the estate, which usually pays the parties’ legal costs.
The cost, length and outcome of a dispute will often reflect the skill, experience, and attitude of the lawyers involved. Jason Falzon is an experienced negotiator who will talk straight with you. He is also in regular communication with some of the most competent barristers in the field.
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