More act on wills

TASMANIANS are contesting more wills than ever before as disinherited children and disgruntled spouses let the courts decide if they have been ripped off.

Estate industry insiders have noted a growing nationwide trend in the number of people willing to fight the perceived injustice of finding they had been left less than they believed they were entitled to.

An experienced estate planner told the Mercury yesterday many people had no idea how easy it was for family and spouses to contest a will.

"Under the legislation, family members or a spouse can make a claim for free and in most cases the person lodging the claim is successful," she said.

"People are more informed today than they have ever been and they're less willing to sit back and accept their lot if they feel they deserve more."

She said some people reacted very badly and her firm had been forced to hire security guards on occasion.

Those in the industry say it is essential to engage a professional estate planner when making a will if there is any possibility it could be contested and the person making the will has good reasons for disinheriting someone.

"The courts look at whether there is a moral obligation for the person who made the will to have provided for the person who's lodged the claim," the estate planner said.

"If there is, the court is likely to award them something but not necessarily what they're asking for."

A jump in house prices and the state of the economy in recent years, as well as an increase in family and marital breakdowns, are just some of the reasons put forward to explain the spike in disputes.

Hobart lawyer and Tasmanian Law Society spokesman Daniel Zeeman says if a claim is lodged the case goes to mediation first and most people come to an agreement in order to avoid a trial.

"Mediation makes the option of contesting a will more accessible," he said.

Mr Zeeman said children made up the most common category of claimants in Tasmania with many people regularly discovering their parents had disinherited them.

There were important factors to consider, he said, when making a will in circumstances where a child was not a beneficiary.

"If a client had a reason for disinheriting a child the advice is to write down exactly why you're doing it and be specific," he said.

"Look at the people in your life to whom you had a moral duty to provide for and treat them fairly."

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