Who can make a family provision claim?
In NSW, the decision to determine who receives the property stated in your will is restricted by the law. It provides the right to 'eligible people' to vary the terms of the will in order to access more property where they feel they have been left out or unfairly dealt with. These family provision claims allow these eligible people to claim more property from the will than they would have otherwise received.
In relation to who can make a family provision claim, the law specifies people who can apply to the Court for a family provision order in respect of the estate of a deceased person. These eligible persons include any:
- Person who was the wife, husband, child or de facto partner of the deceased person at the time of death.
- Former wife or husband of the deceased person.
- Person who is a grandchild or was a member of the same household as the deceased person and at any particular time was wholly or partly dependent on the deceased person.
- Person who lived with the deceased person and also received or provided the deceased person with domestic support and personal care. In other words, the person and the deceased had a close personal relationship.
- Any child born as a result of sexual relations between the parties in a relationship or adopted by both parties, within a de facto relationship.