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.
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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