Died without a will

A good place to start when making a will is to see who is eligible to inherit your property if you die without a will (the legal term for this is: 'intestate succession').
From 1 March 2010 there have been significant changes to 'intestate succession'. The major changes to previous intestacy rules:

• The primacy of the spouse's entitlement to an intestate estate is emphasised;
• There is now a concept of multiple spouses;
• There is no longer a distinction between brothers and sisters of the half blood or full blood;
• First cousins can now inherit;
• The categories of persons who can apply to the State for provision if there are no eligible relatives has been expanded;
• Eligible relatives must survive the intestate by 30 days and be born before the intestate's death. If born after the intestate's death, he or she must have been in utero before the intestate's death and survive at least 30 days after birth; and
• There is specific provision for Indigenous people.

The Succession Amendment (Intestacy) Act 2009 commenced on 1 March 2010, and it now forms Chapter 4 of the Succession Act 2006.
See a solicitor when making a will to discuss how your circumstances fit in these rules.
Contact us..

Age care tweets

We have a Twitter list that collects people who seem to us to make sense on the topic of aged care.
If you have a Twitter account then follow this list:
twitter.com/luchetti_law/age-care
If you do not have an account see you can visit just this one page.
OR these:
Search for "aged care"
twitter.com/#search?q=aged%20care
Search for "alzheimers"
twitter.com/#search?q=alzheimers
The internet solves some of the isolation problems that can come with being a carer.

Inequity in distribution of will

ABC Radio 720 AM Form Guide
- the family and friends edition
Topics raised include how to heal the rifts from perceptions of inequity in the distribution of a will.
abc.net.au/local/audio/2010/01/27/

In all this material there are some gems, including the need to treat offspring equally and the correct way to compensate the child that gives the most care.

Reforms to retirement village laws

Important changes are being made to the retirement village laws. The changes will apply from 1 March 2010.

Changes include:
• encouraging operators to keep recurrent charge increases at or below the rate of inflation
• more certainty about who pays for replacing or repairing items of capital
• increasing operators’ accountability for budget deficits
• ensuring urgent repairs are carried out quickly

See
fairtrading.nsw.gov.au/..Reforms_to_retirement_village_laws

Advance care directive

An advance health care directive is a document that states a person's wishes or directions regarding their future health care for various medical conditions.
It comes into effect only at a stage when they are unable to make their own decisions. The directive may apply at any time when they are unable to decide for themselves, or it may apply only if they are terminally ill.

In a NSW case, a patient was being kept alive by mechanical ventilation and kidney dialysis. When the health service became aware of the existence of an advance care directive refusing dialysis treatment, it sought legal clarification on whether the directive was valid, and whether the health service would be justified in complying with the person’s wishes.

The courts held that in general “whenever there is a conflict between a capable adult’s exercise of the right of self-determination and the state’s interest in preserving life, the right of the individual must prevail”, although there may be exceptions to that principle.

The hospital was required to give effect to the advance care directive, even though withdrawal of dialysis would hasten the person’s death.

Consult us if you would like to discuss age care issues.
From:
End of life: Enforcing your wishes with an advance care directive
“Laws on elder law and succession”, Law Society Journal, November 2009, p.35.

Communicate with ageing parents

Two common communication problems make discussion of sensitive issues with seniors even more difficult. Both problems are illustrated in The TV show "Mother & Son". abc.net.au/abccontentsales/s1168571.htm
One happens if there is a continuation of the parent-child roles from childhood. There was never a coming-of-age for the junior person. This allows the parent to easily dismiss the child's ideas. (Gary McDonald's character)
The other one is patronising speech or "baby talk". (Henry Szeps' character - the dentist) This approach puts older adults on the defensive and convey a lack of respect for them.
When having discussions with seniors always try to move toward solutions that provide the maximum amount of independence for the older person.
See the 40-70 rule:
homeinstead.com.au/resources/4070.html

News from Council of the Ageing

The Council of the Ageing news page is a central place to pick up on items of interest to seniors and their care-givers.
The current news item from the SMH talks about:
"more seniors live below the poverty threshold in Australia (defined as half the median household income) than in all other OECD nations except for Korea, Mexico and Ireland".
See also their item about the 'Experience Works' report, commissioned by National Seniors Australia. It found that many older employees are worse off when it comes to getting a job in Australia, compared to elsewhere.
cotansw.com.au/cota-news.aspx

Downside of production and consumption

Legalink's Website of the Month - www.storyofstuff.com
"The Story of Stuff is a 21-minute, fast-paced, fact-filled look at the underside of our production and consumption patterns. It'll teach you something, it'll make you laugh, and it just may change the way you look at all the stuff in your life forever."

..Talk to your older relatives and tell them you are sorry and that they were right..

Retirement home ideas

I had seen the fake bus stop before, but a new idea to me was to bother to have retirement home bedroom doors fitted with the same knobs & painted the same colour as residents' previous front doors.
dailymail.co.uk/health/article../Alzheimers-sufferers-encouraged-wait-fake-bus-stop..

An electronic life & death

When contemplating a will think about how people can be contacted about your death.
If you live a life that uses a lot of email then you may have to leave your passwords where your executor can find it.
They may need to access your inbox (or contacts list) to let your friends know that you've died. If the email account is a free one then this may have to happen urgently before the account is deleted.
smh.com.au/.../what-happens-to-your-emails-when-you-die
Keeping important records where they can be found in case of your mental decline or after you are gone.
That once meant storing papers in a safe or a file cabinet at home, in a safe-deposit box or with a trusted adviser. Even if the record keeping was spotty, there was a paper trail, starting with bills and statements that showed up in the mail.
But that trail has become harder to follow as more people manage their finances online.
nytimes.com/../your-money/estate-planning/

Luchetti and Co on Twitter @luchetti_law

Luchetti and Co - North Sydney - Crows Nest

Your pet in your will

Pets share the lives of the majority of Australians with approximately 65% of all Australian households owning a pet. While they are beloved members of our family, how many of us have thought about what might happen if our furry family members outlive us?
The NSW Young Lawyers Animal Law Committee have produced a brochure titled “What About Me? Your Pets and Your Will” written in plain language to help people understand the options available when preparing a Will.
For a PDF copy of the brochure:
lawsociety.com.au/.../filelibrary
Contact us if you want to make provision in your will for your pet:
luchettilawyers.com.au/.../ContactUs