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Have you been left out of a will or treated unfairly and deserve a more reasonable share of an estate? We act for people just like you every day. That’s all we do… every day.
When challenging a will it is important to get specialist legal advice.
For the best chance at a successful result in your will disputes, we can provide representation that is backed with expert knowledge and industry experience.
To challenge a will is often an emotional process. Not only are you dealing with the passing of a family member, but trying to organise the legalities that accompany this can take its toll. Our team at Butler’s Will Dispute Lawyers are sensitive to your needs and work tirelessly to achieve the most advantageous result for you.
Seek justice through your will disputes
With the passing of a family member comes a range of legal paperwork and processes. Often, people who are deserving or eligible for inheritance are either excluded or over looked. This is when a will challenge becomes necessary and the team at Butler’s Will Dispute Lawyers begin to work on attaining what is rightfully yours.
If you’re looking for representation, we can provide expert services for will disputes Australia-wide. The experience and knowledge of Butler’s Will Dispute Lawyers has resulted in successful will disputes in NSW, Victoria and Queensland and other States.
If you’re in need of qualified and dedicated will dispute lawyers, Eric Butler and team is there for you.
If you want the best results you and your lawyer need to collect the best evidence. This might sound obvious to you however identifying the best evidence is a skill learnt from many years’ experience in these matters. Judges frequently criticize lawyers for including evidence that is either not relevant or not helpful in determining the issues involved.
If you want the best results you should attempt to settle the dispute before court proceedings are commenced. This negotiation stage can be very difficult and requires careful consideration. You will not know if a settlement offer from the opposition is a fair offer until you have sufficient information and you and your lawyer discuss the available evidence. Anyone can settle quickly however a quick settlement without proper consideration may mean you accept an offer which is far less than what you may actually be entitled to.
If you want the best results you want your affidavit evidence to be accepted by the court and not struck down because it is not in admissible form, that is, something is legally wrong with the content. The court rules are strict. Affidavit evidence is “your story on oath or affirmation”.
If you want the best result at mediation you should to be prepared better than your opposition and have better available evidence than your opposition. You want the most effective legal team representing you to present those facts and to be able to negotiate strongly on your behalf. All lawyers do not have the same attributes. Some lawyers are good at office work. Some are good presenting a case before a judge whilst others are good at mediating and negotiating.
If you want the best result at a hearing you want to be prepared better than your opposition and to have better evidence than your opposition. You want the best solicitor or barrister to represent you. Some lawyers are better at hearings than others. Some solicitors are better than others at preparing a case for hearing. The problem is you may not know how good (or poor) your solicitor or barrister is until the final judgment.
If you want the best results you want the best financial outcome. In wills and estate cases the legal costs can amount to anything from $5,000 to $50,000. Frequently the costs are paid out of the estate which naturally reduces the “size of the cake” to be distributed among the family members involved. In normal court cases (other than wills and estates law) usually the costs are determined by the outcome often referred to by lawyers as “costs following the event”. In other words the loser pays the costs. However in wills and estates law that is not always the case. The court (the Judge) in these cases has more discretion. Usually if you lose you will have to pay your own costs and quite possibly the costs of the winning party. That’s a very good reason to ensure you receive good legal advice before you start.
I’m sure you would not ask your local doctor to give you a heart transplant. There are many things to consider when choosing the right lawyer. There have been major changes in the law in the last few years including changes on 1 March 2008 and 1 March 2009 and again on 1 March 2010. You would expect specialist lawyers in this field to be up to date with those changes. Specialist lawyers will probably know the “secrets” that I have referred to above. I am unable to say whether other lawyers would be as up date as specialists, however you don’t want your case to drag on month after month because your lawyer is too busy with other types of legal work.
We can help with contesting a will, will disputes and all will dispute cases.
