The passing of a loved one, relative or close friend is almost always a painful and disorienting experience. If you are appointed as an executor in their Will or are responsible for administering their estate then, amongst the grieving, you will be required to navigate complicated and possibly urgent legal issues. Obtaining a grant of probate or letters of administration is often time consuming and unintuitive for the unfamiliar applicant.
The recent Supreme Court case concerning the estate of Raymond David is an example of how a probate lawyer acted swiftly and prudently to protect the assets of his client’s estate and secured an efficient administration
The Case of Re David [2022] NSWSC 48
Raymond David lived in a property in Bringelly. Raymond was a registered proprietor of the property along with his son Daniel. Together they entered into a contract for sale of the land in December 2021. Unfortunately, before the sale of land could be completed, Raymond suddenly died in January 2022.
The Contract was due for completion by the end of the month.
A peculiarity of the contract was that a clause was not included in the contract providing for its rescission in the event of the death of the seller. This meant that Daniel and the estate of Raymond were facing breaching the contract for sale and being liable to pay damages because they would be unable to complete the contract. The damages to the purchaser could also be aggravated quickly by rising interest rates which were forecast on the loan they had obtained.
Probate lawyer’s prudent solution
Fortunately for Daniel, Raymond had appointed as joint executor of his will a probate solicitor. The learned solicitor’s solution can be summarised as follows. Proceedings were commenced in the Supreme Court of NSW by Raymond David’s solicitor and his son, Daniel David. They sought to be urgently appointed as administrators of Raymond’s will.
Knowing that there was a strong line of precedent for the appointment of administrators in circumstances where there is an urgent need for the assets of an estate to be able to be dealt with, the probate solicitor drove the application home by pointing to the practicality of urgently avoiding the unnecessary loss to both the purchaser and the seller of the property.
The court granted this application limiting the administration in an appropriate fashion.
Conclusion
As in the case of Re David, the services of a probate lawyer can save you time and turmoil in the wake of the passing of a loved one. Getting the timely assistance of the court can be navigated expertly by a solicitor.
If you find yourself in similar circumstances to Daniel or require guidance through the process of obtaining a grant of probate or the administration of an estate, contact Carneys Lawyers today.
