Rayners Lawyers acts for executors and administrators defending high net wealth and ultra high net wealth estates against family provision claims.
As executor, you have a legal duty to uphold the terms of the will and act in the interests of all beneficiaries — even when a family provision claim puts that duty under pressure. Complex estates raise complex risk: business succession structures, testamentary trusts, blended families, and significant or illiquid assets all increase the stakes of getting the defence wrong.
Kirsty Rayner has particular experience acting for executors of sophisticated, high-value estates, working alongside private client advisers, accountants and trustees to protect the estate's assets and the executor's position.
If a family provision claim is made — or threatened — against an estate you administer, you're obliged to defend the proceedings to uphold the will and protect beneficiaries' interests. That doesn't always mean a courtroom battle. In many cases, the strongest outcome for the estate is a well-negotiated resolution at the solicitor level, reached before the costs and delay of litigation erode the estate's value.
The earlier an executor gets specialist advice, the more options are available — for containing costs, for negotiating from a position of strength, and for protecting the executor personally. Waiting until a claim has escalated narrows those options considerably.
Separately from a family provision claim, a will's validity can itself be contested — for example, on the basis that:
We advise executors on defending challenges of this kind as well as family provision claims.
If a claim has been made — or you expect one may be made — against an estate you administer, early advice makes a real difference to the outcome.
CONTACT US
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PO Box 569, Port Macquarie NSW 2444
PORT MACQUARIE
Level 1, 2 Horton Street, Port Macquarie NSW 2444
02 6583 4312