Intestate entitlements to children prior to November 2017

[Collux]

My wife passed away in 2000 and did not leave a will. Our family assets were in my name but clearly were owned by both of us at the time. She died without a will and my children may have a claim Given the laws at the time. My assets included our family home, cash in the bank, superannuation and one investment unit.

I know that after that the law says that assets will come to me (if my wife had no will) but before the law was changed in November 2017, there was a formula where I was entitled to the first $100,000 +1/3 of the remainder of my wife’s portion (i owned half).

This meant that my children were entitled to about 2/3 of my wife’s share.

Do my children have a valid legal claim today to 2/3 of my deceased wife’s estate from 20 years ago? At the time they were young (under 16) and were not aware of their Legal entitlement.

I am not disputing their claim and want to be fair to them. This issue has arisen now because of my divorce with my current wife who is pressuring me to sell the family home. I am 73 and in reasonable health but will need to Consider a retirement home or village in the next 3 to 5 years.

I’m trying to determine how much my kids own of the family home so I can split the reminder fairly with my estranged wife.

 

[Suzi]

Given that your wife passed away 20 years ago and she died intestate (without a Will), the laws of intestacy at that time applied. Depending on which State of Australia you are located, as to what entitlement your children may or may not have.

Without further information about yours and your children’s current situation, it is difficult to determine what, if any, claim your children have on your current asset pool and/or what was your wife’s asset pool at the time that she passed away.

Before giving anything to your children, you ought to also consider what, if any, impact that could have on your Centrelink entitlements if you are receiving any. It may be necessary to obtain a court order to give something to your children to avoid having your Centrelink entitlements affected.

I recommend that you obtain legal and financial advice before considering what, if anything, you ought to give to your children.


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