Understanding Letters of Administration in Victoria
When a person passes away without leaving a valid Will, their estate cannot be administered in the same way as if there was a Will appointing an executor.


When a person passes away without leaving a valid Will, their estate cannot be administered in the same way as if there was a Will appointing an executor.
The central issue is whether a stepchild—who has not been legally adopted by the deceased—can make a claim against the estate of a person who died intestate (i.e., without a valid will) in Victoria.
Superannuation is a significant component of estate planning in Australia, often representing a substantial portion of an individual’s wealth.
Concerns about capacity of a person to enter into legal transactions is not new, nor is the acceptance that capacity is issue-specific and that incapacity is not static and can change.
The position of a Trustee is an important position. The Trustee’s duties are covered between legislation in each state, commonwealth legislation and case law. Trustees can be individuals, one or more than one and also companies.
An elderly self-managed superannuation fund (SMSF) trustee was convinced that his adult son, who is not financially dependent on him, would receive all his superannuation savings upon his death totally tax-free.
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