SMSFs,Trusts and Estates Disputes
If you’ve found yourself in a dispute, we can work with you to make the best of a bad situation. We assist clients in contentious SMSFs, trusts, estates, and probate matters – always with a view to resolving disputes in the most cost-effective and tax-effective manner.
Leading the team is principal lawyer, Chartered Tax Advisor, Trusts and Estates Practitioner and SMSF Specialist Advisor™ Nathan Yii, recognised by his peers in Doyle’s Guide as a leading Wills, Estates & Succession Planning Lawyer and Litigation Lawyer.
Helping you move forward
Combining expertise in tax, structuring, wills and estates, we are well-placed to commercially and tax-effectively resolve disputes or litigious matters – so you can keep moving forward with your business and life.
We work closely with you to understand not only the legal issues involved in your situation but also your family or business dynamics – so you can preserve relationships as far as possible.
“We were comforted by the way Nathan Yii Lawyers approached the settling of our late mother’s estate dispute. Their ability to talk tax sense to everyone ultimately settled the dispute”
Areas of expertise
We are experienced in challenging and defending trusts and estates disputes, including:
Seeking further provision from an estate
Disputes between executors, trustees or beneficiaries
Will rectification or construction
SMSF disputes including death benefit disputes
Trust disputes involving administration, distribution or accounting
Asserting equitable interests where legal ownership does not fairly represent the intended beneficial ownership
FAQ – When can I challenge a will?
Only eligible persons may challenge a Will in Victoria. In an application, the Court considers:
The size of the estate
The relationship between the person making the application (the applicant) and the deceased
The financial position, needs and earning capacity of the applicant and other beneficiaries
Gifts or property transfers made by the deceased during their lifetime
Financial dependence on the deceased before death
The character and conduct of the applicant.
A Victorian claim must be made within 6 months from the date Probate or Letters of Administration has been granted, unless otherwise extended by the Court.
Trust and SMSF dispute experts
We are experts in managing disagreements over investments, control, beneficiary distributions and other issues that can crop up between trustees and beneficiaries of a trust. As SMSF specialists, we can also help you manage membership, death benefit and other disputes between trustees and members of an SMSF. We can also assist with putting mechanisms in place that reduce the chance of these disputes arising in the first place.
Notable matters
Advised on and settled an acrimonious wealth dispute, with the main driver to settlement being a tax and duty saving of over $3 million
Advised on and settled a complex trust dispute that cut across areas including family law and succession law in Victoria and New South Wales
Advised on and settled a high net worth SMSF death benefit dispute by minimising conflicts, saving over $5 million in tax and duty.