An attorney appointed by Power of Attorney takes on a raft of legal obligations which are owed to the principal (the person granting the power). In the watershed case of Dunn v Perpetual Trustee Company [2025] VSC 799 (Dunn v Perpetual), the Court rejected an attempt to extend those duties to third parties — beneficiaries named in the principal’s will.
On 8 February 2024, in the Trusts, Equity & Probate Division of the Supreme Court of Victoria, Justice Gorton handed down a decision which was largely dependent on proving the existence of a 30-year-old oral agreement affecting husband and wife wills.
Dealing with the loss of a loved one is enormously difficult. It is even more difficult when there is an issue regarding the potential decline in the cognitive function of that loved one.
In Australia, we have what is known as ‘freedom of testation’. That is, a person is free to leave their assets to whomever they wish when they die.
In the fourth of our Wills and Estates 101 series, we speak with Rigby Cooke Lawyers Wills and Estates Special Counsel, Christian Teese, to answer questions around your rights to challenge the validity of a Will.