Blog

Guides

• Quistclose Trusts: Restricted Funds and Recovery

  When restricted-purpose funds are diverted, test whether a Quistclose trust protects them and trace the advance before choosing a recovery claim.

• Donatio Mortis Causa: Testing a Deathbed Gift

  Does an alleged deathbed gift remove property from the estate? Test donatio mortis causa through evidence of intention, delivery and control.

• Disgorgement and Accounts of Profits Explained

  Compare disgorgement and an account of profits with compensation. A source-linked gain schedule separates receipts, deductions and overlapping recovery.

• Preliminary Discovery: Identify a Claim or Defendant

  Preliminary discovery helps identify a prospective defendant or assess whether to sue, subject to the court’s evidence and production requirements.

• Knowing Assistance: Proving Accessory Liability

  Knowing assistance requires analysis of participation in a fiduciary breach, including knowledge, conduct and the records connecting diverted funds.

• Secret Trusts: Proving an Obligation Outside the Will

  Does a recipient hold a gift for someone else under a secret trust? Test the alleged obligation through intention, communication, acceptance and records.

• Mutual Wills: Agreements and Estate Claims

  Mutual wills depend on a binding agreement, with the terms, later transfers and estate records determining how a claimed obligation can be tested.

• Ademption: When a Specific Gift Leaves the Estate

  Ademption concerns a gifted asset missing at death, with sale proceeds, replacement property and an attorney’s transactions affecting the analysis.

• Proofs of Debt: Evidence, Admission and Disputes

  A proof of debt sets out the claim, payments and supporting records so the practitioner can assess voting rights or entitlement to a dividend.

• Probate: Preparing the Grant and Asset Inventory

  Preparing a probate application? Check the grant route, asset inventory, bank evidence and registry requisitions before you file.

• Power of Attorney: Authority and Financial Duties

  Check financial authority under a power of attorney in NSW, Queensland or Victoria, including when it operates and which records to keep.

• Testamentary Trusts: Control, Records and Disputes

  A testamentary trust changes who controls inherited assets. Check the will, trustee powers, distributions and records before advising beneficiaries.

• Separation: Dates, Financial Records and First Steps

  Separation under one roof can still end a relationship. Record what changed, preserve financial evidence and distinguish divorce from property claims.

• Divorce Applications: Documents, Service and Checks

  Preparing divorce papers? Check the application, supporting affidavits, service evidence and final order before advising on property deadlines.

• Conciliation: Meaning, Process and Binding Outcomes

  What does conciliation involve? Identify the forum, prepare the financial records, and distinguish a settlement from an imposed decision.

• Letters of Administration: Grant and Asset Evidence

  No executor can act? Check what letters of administration mean, who can apply and when a small estate still needs a grant and asset inventory.

• White-Collar Crime: Financial Evidence and Responses

  Suspected white-collar crime calls for more than a suspicious payment. Separate offence elements, records, explanations and civil recovery options.

• Mortgagee in Possession: Duties and Sale Accounts

  If a lender takes possession, check the mortgagee’s rights and sale duties, then reconcile rent, debt, expenses and any surplus with source records.

• Subpoenas: Issue, Compliance and Objections

  Need a subpoena or received one? Check its purpose, service, conduct money, production duties and objections before the return date.

• Affidavits: Facts, Witnessing and Financial Exhibits

  Writing or checking an affidavit? Separate facts from argument, choose the correct form, verify the exhibits and complete valid witnessing.

• Division 7A Loans: Agreements and Real Repayments

  Check a Division 7A loan agreement, minimum repayments and actual money movements. Distinguish company-to-trust advances from unsupported journals.

• NSW Probate Search: Find Notices and Grants

  Find NSW probate notices and grants, request the records you need and check Victorian or Queensland searches before relying on an estate file.

• RedCrest-Probate: Filing and Requisitions

  File a Victorian grant application in RedCrest-Probate, keep the asset evidence consistent and respond to requisitions through the correct workflow.

• Medical Treatment Decision Makers in Victoria

  A medical power of attorney in Victoria may use older terminology. Check the appointment, treatment authority and how Queensland instruments differ.