Equity Essay
Legislation and case law has been evolving throughout history surrounding testamentary promises. The attitudes of the courts have ebbed and flowed towards claims testing the validity of a will. New Zealand was the first country in the commonwealth jurisdiction to enact a family protection act, the Testators Family Maintenance Act 1900. Although legislation has changed considerably since the incorporation of the first act, the central concept has remained essentially unchanged. There are three main statutes in New Zealand governing family protection and testamentary promises, Property (relationships) Act 1976, Law Reform (Testamentary Promises) Act 1949 and the Family Protection Act 1955. This essay will explore these
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The test used to prove or disprove capacity is that of contractual capacity, and not of testamentary capacity.
Application of the Testamentary Promises Act
Blanchard J clearly sets out, in Bryne v Bishop, the practical application of the relevant law, being section 3 of the Testamentary Promises Act. Blanchard J sets out what qualifies “work” ,“services” and “promise” as described by the act, the recipient of the promise, the nexus between the services ad the promise, and the role of the courts. The first issue is determining what qualifies the term “services” or “work” under the act. The courts have been clear that to satisfy the term of “services” or “work” the acts must be more than that of normal expectations of family life or social interaction. It may however be satisfactory for acts to have a compassionate or affectionate nature in certain circumstances. Although the parameters have not been specifically outlined, the courts have been clear that service can not be satisfied if the facts show that of “young people simply sharing the pleasures of each other’s company in a common household.” The next issue which Blanchard J addresses is the term “promise.” It as been declared that the term, for the purposes of the act, may be interpreted outside of the dictionary meaning of the word. The term “promise” as defined in section 2 of the Act includes “any statement or representation of fact or
The case of Jonah v White (2012) 48 FAM LR 562 wishes to appeal the original decision of Murphy J, in which his Honour asserted that the appellant, (“Ms Jonah”) and the respondent (“Mr White”) had not been in a de-facto relationship in correspondence with the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) (“the Act”). The appeal is bought before May, Strickland and Ainslie-Wallace JJ in the Full Court of the Family Court of Australia in Brisbane. The case seeks to question and determine what constitutes a law-binding de-facto relationship.
There is much debate over the issue of whether we have complete freedom of the will or if our will caused by something other than our own choosing. There are three positions adopted by philosophers regarding this dispute: determinism, libertarianism, and compatibilism. Determinists believe that freedom of the will does not exist. Since actions are events that have some predetermined cause, no actions can be chosen and thus there is no will to choose. The compatibilist argues that you can have both freedom of the will and determinism. If the causes which led to our actions were different, then we could have acted in another way which is compatible with freedom of the will. Libertarians believe that freedom of the will does exist.
Re: what can a person do under the power of attorney in terms of gift transfers
Rule Support: In re Estate of Nathan (1996); In re Estate of Rose (1992). In Nathan, the courts held that there was a lack of testamentary capacity when the testator changed his will: he did not remember having siblings and was confused about whether he owned one apartment or the entire apartment building. In contrast, the Rose court held she had testamentary capacity because she fully understood what she owned and that
R(On the application of the Crown Prosecution Service) v Registrar General of Births, Deaths and Marriages [2002] EWCA Civ 1661; [2003] Q.B 1222
Equity is a source of law which is based on flexible principles to supplement the common law, and thereby alleviating the harshness. Lord Scarman once described the principle of equity in National Westminster Bank PLC v Morgan as a ‘world of doctrine, not of neat and tidy rules’ which emphasises its rigidity nature to provide its flexibility. As Alastair Hudson noted , many different doctrines fit inside English equity which introduce a more systematic approach to the common law. It is important to examine equity’s historical development to recognize the root of how it was formed and used, and how it still serves a purpose within the modern legal system.
In life there are many difficult legal decisions that families will have to make for their loved ones. These decisions are of the up most importance because the legal consequences that these decisions will have upon the families of the person who such provisions are issued to. One such legal illustration is that of the decision regarding whether or not it is beneficial to have a living trust or a will. This is because while they both allow one to set up beneficiaries for property, they are quite different and in essence are useful for different cases. Ultimately, in this case both options provide benefits and drawbacks which must be considered in order to make the proper decision.
Soon after receiving the plan to complete the Estate Income Tax Returns, I began to execute the plan. As described in the article The Estate Income Tax Returns: The Plan to Complete the Returns, the plan, in part, involved distributing the proceeds of the rental property sale and paying out tax deductible expenses. However, before I could carry out my portion of the plan, I had to complete the following important tasks:
The famous US decision of Riggs v Palmer serves to illustrate a considerable strength in Dworkin’s argument concerning rules and principles. The New York court had to decide a case to determine whether a grandson who poisoned his grandfather to obtain his inheritance was in fact able to collect such an inheritance. At the time, there existed no statute or law that invalidated his claim as a beneficiary due to his involvement in the murder. Furthermore, the applicable legal rule seemed to be that legacies contained in legally valid testamentary dispositions are to be guaranteed by law in accordance with the wishes of the testator. According to Hart, the court should, in this situation, be decided upon pre-existing law. Yet despite this, the court majority found that the grandson could not inherit, instead appealing to moral reasoning by citing the principle that no one should be able to profit from ones crimes. A similar decision based on principle was handed down 70 years later in the case of Henningsen v Bloomfield Motors Inc. As a result of these cases, Dworkin is able
Law reform has been rather effective in catering to contemporary issues concerning family members in a equal and accessible way. Although, the effectiveness of law reform relating to family members has been slow to develop, the current quality of family law, which is guided by the means of the 1975 Family Law Act (FLA) has been affecting justice for family members. The effectiveness of family law has changed a lot over time. The legislation that has been changed to ensure the effectiveness of the family law system includes the reform of the family laws Property (Relationships) Legislation Amendment Act 1999 (NSW), Family Provision Act 1982 (NSW) (now replaced by the Succession Act 2006 (NSW), Family Law Amendment (Shared Parental Responsibility)
In “Commitments, Reasons, and the Will,” Ruth Chang argues that there are “special reasons” for actions produced within committed relationships which do not arise in other relationships, and that the commitment itself gives these reasons their normative force (75). In contrast, in “Autonomy and the Authority of Personal Commitments: From Internal Coherence to Social Normativity” Joel Anderson objects that views which emphasize volitions fail to adequately explain the normative failure of one who acts contrary to their commitments (94). First, this paper will explicate Chang 's argument for voluntarist reasons, and, second, it will examine Anderson 's objection and his “social normativity” proposal. I will argue that Chang fails to establish why volitional reasons are necessary to explain the normativity of commitments, and, furthermore, that Anderson 's account is more plausible.
They should consider Testamentary limit it adds up to turmoil of they psyche or madness. On the off chance that they the contents may seen unreasonable all over, it is assumed that the person was experiencing illness. One put it along these lines there property is discarded reasonably, and as per. before with unexpected and out of line changes, more full and clearer proof of limit is required. Everything Individual propounding the will to fulfill the Court that the will. As per question ond agreed for each situation. However that a document won't be vanquished just on the grounds. The Court shall recognise the way that the documents creator medication at the time he made her will raised quest. the Court held that the Public Trust owed an obligation of care to a potential
In Milroy, the deceased executed a deed, which used wrong formality, to set up a trust of shares in favour of his niece. The niece argued that
A testamentary designation of a guardian is a very common and accepted method for appointing a legal guardian. Society views the testamentary designations as the selfless act of a responsible parent to provide for the care of his child. Around the world, especially in the common law jurisdictions, the concept of testamentary guardianship exists. A parent at times may not be confident about the ability of the other parent to care for the child properly. This particularly applies to parents who are separated. Such a parent may wish to appoint a testamentary guardian. This is all the more important when there is conflict between the paternal and maternal sides of the family and there is a fear among the family members that if one of the parent dies, that side of the family would get cut off from the child. It is also very relevant when there is a conflict among the parents pertaining to religious or educational issues as a testamentary guardian will have a say in that decision making process. However, even after the appointment of a testamentary guardian, a parent may drag the issue to court
The expression “Parental Responsibility” (PR) marks a revolution in the Children Act 1989, aspiring to alter the parent-child relationship from rights to duties and responsibilities. This terminology justified the House of Lords’ decision in Gillick v West Norfolk and Wisbech AHA where Lord Fraser commented: “[Parental rights… do not exist for the benefit of the parent… rather to enable the parent to perform his duties towards the child…] . In accordance, s3 Children Act 1989 (CA 1989) defined having PR as being a legal parent in practice and this shows uniformity with the Hague Convention on Child Abduction which allows a right to guardianship.