South Australian Law Reform Institute

Survey for inquiry into the Inheritance (Family Provision) Act 1972 (SA)

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* 1. Before we start, it would be great to know a bit about you.  Please tell us your name and a bit about where you live. It's also fine to skip this question if you want to keep your answers anonymous.

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* 2. Please provide an email address so that we can keep in touch with you about our work.  If you would prefer to skip this question, we would still love to hear your anonymous feedback.

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* 3. Do you have any direct experience with family provision laws, for example, have you been involved in a dispute about the will of a family member?  If you feel comfortable, please tell us about it without using any names or locations.  Please remember that SALRI cannot provide legal advice. You can see some case study examples here Video Case Studies

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* 4. Should family provision laws be about the rights of the person who wrote the will to leave their property to whoever they choose, or should the laws reflect an obligation to adequately provide for family members who might depend on that person for their day to day life? Has our current law got this balance right?  For more info see Fact Sheet 2 or watch this short Video Fact Sheet 2

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* 5. Should the law fully implement the wishes of the testator (the person who makes the will) or should the law intervene to improve the fairness of the will? In what circumstances should the court be able to adjust what the testator set out in his or her will? For further info on this question see Fact Sheet 3 or watch this short Video Fact Sheet 3

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* 6. Please tell us which family members, or other people, should be able to make a claim against a deceased person's will (this could include former and current spouses or partners, children, step children, siblings, parents, grandchildren).  Should any of these categories of family members be subject to special circumstances (such as age or  financial dependence)?  For further info on this question see Fact Sheet 4 or watch this short Video Fact Sheet 4

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* 7. What further criteria, if any, should apply when the court is working out how to deal with claims from family members?  For example, should the court have a list of factors to consider (such as financial dependence, the nature of the relationship between the deceased and the person making the claim, the size and value of the estate, the ability of the person making the claim to generate their own income)?  For further info on this question see Fact Sheet 5 or watch this short Video Fact Sheet 5

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* 8. Please share your thoughts on timing and costs issues relating to family provision claims.  For example, is the current six month time frame for making family provision claims appropriate?  Is it appropriate for a family provision claim to be precluded by the full distribution of the deceased's estate? What impact do you think rules relating to costs have on family provision claims?  Should mediation and conciliation play a bigger role in keeping litigation costs down ?   For more info on this question see Fact Sheet 6 or watch this short Video Fact Sheet 6 Costs or Video Fact Sheet 6 Timing

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* 9. Have you experienced cases of people disposing their assets during their lifetime in order to minimise the property that is in their estate and frustrate the operation of family provision laws? What are some examples of this? Should the law intervene to make these assets available to deserving family members? For more info on this question see Fact Sheet 7 or watch this short Video Fact Sheet 7

 

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* 10. Is there something we've forgotten?  Please tell us about any other changes you would like to see made to South Australia's laws relating to family provision and inheritance - or perhaps there are parts of the law that are working well?

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