Just in Case Law

CASE: Estate Pamplin; Irwin v Pamplin [2017] NSWSC 1477 A de facto spouse is where you are living together as a couple but not married.  But what happens when a de facto spouse dies without a Will? and the big question that follows on from that is “how do you prove that you are a de facto spouse?”. The case we are looking at today involves a man who dies without a Will. A woman who claims to...

CASE: NMBA v Kumar [2019] VCAT 1099 This case involved an application by the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia bringing allegations of professional misconduct against Ms Abha Kumar. Mr Lionel Cox was 92 years old when he was admitted for respite care at Cambridge house, where Ms Kumar was a nurse unit manager. On his first day there, Ms Kumar found out that Lionel did not have any family, o...

CASE: Adams v Adams [2001] NSWSC 456 Can an adult child's conduct be so reprehensible as to disentitle them from provision from a deceased's parents estate? Meryl Adams died in 1999 and was survived by her 6 children. She left her estate to only one of them, her daughter Jennifer.  When her other children applied to the court for a share of the estate, their past conduct and that of their mot...

CASE: NSW Trustee and Guardian v Colin Edward James Schneider [2011] NSWSC 424 When Athol Morgan's mother died, she left him a right to reside in a property at Evans Head for the rest of his life. The house could also be sold to pay for new accommodation for Athol. Only on Athol's death would the house then go to a grand nephew Colin Schneider.  Colin got a bit impatient waiting for his inher...

CASE: Lim v Cho [2018] NSWCA 145 A family dinner out takes an unexpected turn. On the drive home from the restaurant, mum is driving, dad is in the front passenger seat and two kids (2 years old and 4 years old) are in the back.  Mum and dad start arguing and dad decides to end the argument by leaving the vehicle... while it's still moving. He jumps out as the car is going 50km/hr. He suffers...

CASE: R v Morant [2018] QSC 251 (Davis J); Morant v Terry Ryan (The State Coroner) [2022] QDC 134 (District Court Judge Loury QC) WARNING: This episode involves suicide and criminal charges related to counselling and aiding suicide. Obviously, this can be a difficult topic and if people would prefer to skip this episode, that is fine with me. Your mental wellbeing is much more important, take care...

CASE: Re Cassar [2022] VSC 126 Frank Cassar died on 14 October 2011. His last Will appointed his oldest son as his sole executor and beneficiary and made no mention of his partner of more than 30 years Sandra or their other 3 children.  In 2019, 8 years after Frank's death, Sandra admitted to the Supreme Court of Victoria that she had forged Frank's Will and brought into dispute a $15 million...

CASE: Kaimal & Kaimal (No 2) [2020] FamCA 1119; Kaimal & Kaimal [2020] FamCA 971 (20 Nov 2020) A binding financial agreement allows a couple to agree in advance on how their assets will be divided should they separate. However, to be binding, it must comply with several requirements, including the requirement that each party receive adequate independent legal advice. In this case, the part...

CASE: EB v GB (No 2) [2022] NSWSC 1011 Does the guardian of an incapacitated adult have the authority to prevent other people having contact?  That was the question asked of the NSW Supreme Court in this case and it recognised that the answer to that question is different in the different States and Territories of Australia.  The primary issue in this case was whether the Court had juris...

CASE: Carpenter & Woodward [2021] FedCFamC2F 600 What if you just decide not to participate in family law legal proceedings? What happens if you just don’t turn up to your court date or submit any evidence?  Can the court make a judgement without you there? Can they make a judgement against you?  That is what happened in this family law matter in which the mother applied to the court...

CASE: Wang v Jiang [2022] VSC 371 TOPIC: When you die, who owns your corpse? Is it you? Your spouse? Your executor? Or the State? And what happens if there is a dispute over what is to happen with your remains? Who decides whether you are buried or cremated? Who can keep your ashes?  That is the topic covered in this case.  This podcast is not legal advice. This case is based on the law...

Application of Baldwin [2021] NSWSC 1438 Before she died, Denise Melane hired Julian Field and his company Lokdown Pty Limited to create and maintain a website directory for her, for which she paid over $400,000.  After Denise's death, her executors applied to the Supreme Court of NSW to ask whether they could sue Julian Field and his company.  Keep an ear out for the loud rumble of thun...

Eufrosin & Eufrosin [2014] FamCAFC 191;  Eufrosin & Eufrosin [2013] FamCA 311 As sometimes happens, the marriage in this case came to an end and the husband and wife went their separate ways. The only thing binding them still was the ongoing legal proceedings to determine how their assets would be divided.  While they were still fighting over who got the house and the car, the wi...

Manning v Matsen [2015] NSWSC 1801; Manning v Matsen (No 2) [2016] NSWSC  This case involves an adult daughter making claim for greater provision from the estate of her deceased mother and the fun mind-scramble that is notional estate.  This podcast is not legal advice.  This case is based on the law in NSW only.

CASE: Ip v Chiang [2021] NSWSC 822 This case involves a sham marriage, separation, property settlement and then a second sham marriage.  All perpetrated against a man who did not mental capacity to consent to any of it and with the intention of taking his house. The Supreme Court of NSW needed to determine whether Lo Sing Ip had capacity to marry, transfer his property, divorce, sign a settle...