Question

Victoria is a doctor, living and working in England. She is employed at St George’s Hospital, the city’s largest hospital, on an excellent salary. She is one of few specialist neurologists (ie a doctor that treats conditions of the nerves, spine and brain). She has a prestigious job, an outstanding reputation and lives in a luxury apartment in one of the most exclusive and sought after addresses in London. Her elderly parents who are both in their mid-eighties contact her, pleading with her to return to Melbourne to care for them. They assure her that they will leave to her in their respective wills all their assets including their holiday house in Flinders if she relocates to Melbourne to look after them. Victoria reluctantly agrees. She leaves her high paying job in London, sells her apartment and returns to Melbourne. Following their death 8 years later, she is disheartened to learn that all their assets had been willed to The Heart Foundation of Australia, the country’s leading heart health charity which they had supported for many years.

Victoria claims she is entitled to her parents’ estate.

Required

Would Victoria succeed in claiming the estate as hers? Explain your answer fully. You must refer to relevant legal principles and case law in your answer.

Answer 1

In austrailia, Individual needs a legal will to have control over the benifits to have from their Estate and Every person above the age of 18 years is advisable to write the will.

In absence of the will, the law of the state legislature is applicable, wherein the tax liabilities of the Govt are first set off and the balance assets to be distributed among the legal heirs.

Will can include the several things:

How the assets will be shared among the legal heirs,

creation of trust

who will take care the younger Child

property given in donation etc

Will also needs to amend in the following circumstances:

after marraige, divorce or saperation.

after birth of child or grand child

on the death of spouse or benifeciary

any other signifienct change in financail position.

hence in the above case, even though Victoria came to Malbourne on the assurance of the parents that she will be their legal heir on the acceptence of the condition of taking care of themself. Their parents needs to amend the will if they already written in the name of "The Heart Foundadtion of Austrailia".

however, it is nowhere provs that the will is written before her coming back to Malbourne or after that. But it seems that before the death, the parents were already associated with the Foundation and there have written thier will consciously in favor of foundadtion, they have not makeup their mind to change the will in favour of ms Victoria. Taking care of the old parents is the moral responsibility of the child but in the above case Victoria reluctantly agree to take care of them with greed of becoing the legal heir of parental property.

Hence Victoria has no legal right remain over their property. Will prevail over the inheritance as a comon law.