Legal Project Management Plan & Checklist
Purpose of this Guide: Use this plan when your client has been left out of a deceased person's will entirely, or received a share of the estate that is inadequate for their proper maintenance and support. Queensland law gives certain eligible persons - including a spouse, de facto partner, child (including adult children), or dependant - the right to apply to the court for a larger share of the estate. Open this plan at first instructions once you have confirmed the deceased has died, probate has been or is about to be granted, and the client is within the eligible class and within the 9-month filing deadline.
Jurisdiction: Supreme Court of Queensland (Trial Division). Applications are made under the Succession Act 1981 (QLD). Important: unlike NSW, there is no notional estate jurisdiction in Queensland - claims can only be made against the actual estate assets that remain at the time of the application. Forks address the evidential differences between adult child claims and competing claims by de facto spouses.
The Process at a Glance: Confirm the client is an eligible person and that the 9-month filing deadline from the date of the grant of probate has not expired. Obtain a copy of the will and the grant of probate. Serve a notice of claim on the executor before filing. Gather evidence of the client's financial needs, health, earning capacity, and relationship with the deceased. Obtain the estate inventory from the executor. File the application in the Supreme Court. Exchange affidavit evidence with the executor and any competing claimants. Attend mediation - most family provision claims settle at or before mediation. If unresolved, proceed to trial.
Use this fork when multiple people are claiming a share of the same estate and the competing claims involve both an adult child of the deceased and a de facto spouse. These two claimant types have different evidentiary requirements and different presumptions, and the court must balance them against each other in assessing what is adequate provision for each.
Key Legislation and Case Law: Succession Act 1981 (QLD) Part 4 (ss 40-44D). The 9-month filing deadline from the date of the grant runs from the date the grant of probate or letters of administration is first issued: s 44. The court considers the factors in s 41(2) including the applicant's financial position, the size of the estate, the nature of the relationship, and competing claims. CRITICAL: Queensland has no notional estate jurisdiction - unlike NSW (Succession Act 2006 (NSW) Chapter 3 Part 3.3), there is no power to claw back assets the deceased disposed of before death. Claims are limited to actual estate assets only.
* Disclaimer: We're nobody's lawyer, because we aren't lawyers. You are, so you know better than to take legal advice from an app. We also aren't accountants or dog trainers - just digital spirit guides taking zero liability for any of this. This site exists to gather the collective knowledge of practitioners like you. Verify everything and submit your feedback on the Family Provision Application (Applicant) matter plan to improve the playbook. THIS IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE, it's a request for input.
This legal matter plan provides a structured workflow for TRUSTS_ESTATES cases, outlining the standard DISPUTE_LITIGATION process. Utilize these tracking templates to manage your legal cases efficiently.
Verify the applicant's relationship under s 40 of the Succession Act, assess financial need under Singer v Berghouse Stage 1, document lifetime gifts received, and calculate the strict 6-month notice and 9-month filing deadlines.
Draft and serve the written Notice of Intention to Apply on the executor within the 6-month statutory limit under s 41(8), stopping the executor's s 44 protection for distributions.
Draft and file UCPR Form 5 and supporting affidavits (Form 46), solicitor's affidavit as to costs (per Practice Direction 14 of 2023), and draft directions order within the 9-month statutory limit.
Prepare position papers and represent applicant at the court-ordered mediation under Amended Practice Direction 14 of 2023 to negotiate a Deed of Settlement or Consent Order.
Brief counsel, compile trial bundles, represent the applicant at the court hearing, and secure a provision order under s 41.
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