Explore the intricate world of estate planning with a rundown of recent family provision cases and practical concerns of mutual wills agreements. Navigate the twists of probate applications and delve into professional executorship options. Beware the subplot of elder abuse and capacity. Master the best financial options in estate planning as you uncover recent discretionary trust issues, taxation nuances and glean superannuation insights from recent decisions. Join this epic journey, where expertise meets empowerment in just one event.

Presenters

Jennifer Maher, Director, Velocity Legal
Jennifer Maher has expertise in advising private businesses and high net worth families and individuals in relation to wealth transfer, asset protection, trusts, business structuring and succession planning. Jennifer practises extensively in private client services, which incorporates will making, estate planning, estate litigation, trust law, attorneyship, guardianship and aged care. Jennifer has handled a large number of family provision claims and has been involved in numerous estate and trust litigation cases as well as several significant cases in wills, estate and equity matters including cy-près applications. Jennifer has also been appointed as a litigation guardian to protect the interests of minors or persons under a disability, whose interests are affected by a will challenge. Jennifer's clientele includes private clients, businesses, high net worth clients, trustee companies, private and public corporations, private family and business trusts. Jennifer practice also includes assisting families with their aging loved ones, including assisting and advising attorneys and guardians as to their duties, assisting with the transition to aged care and appearing at VCAT in contested administration and guardianship disputes.


William Gillies, Barrister, Foley’s List
William F Gillies is a member of the Medico-Legal Society, the Maritime Law Association of Australia & New Zealand and the Institute of Arbitrators and has written Practical Medicine for Lawyers. He is also admitted to practice in the A.C.T., N.S.W., Tasmania and Papua New Guinea.


Anna Hacker, Client Director, Pitcher Partners
Anna has been practising as a legal practitioner for almost two decades and is an accredited specialist in the area of Wills & Estates. In a career spanning both private practice and trustee companies, most recently as General Manager of Estate Planning, Anna now assists private clients as a Client Director of the Family Office team of Pitcher Partners, one of Australia’s largest accounting and business advisory practices, with their estate planning strategies and goals. By working with external law firms to develop and engage clients, Anna’s approach of demystifying the complexity of estate planning is highlighted by her hosting of Australian Unity’s podcast “What Happens When I Die?” as well as her role as consultant on season two of the ABC’s “Fisk” Season 2 and 3. Anna serves as a member of STEP, the Law Institute of Victoria as well as on the Macleod College School Council.


Daniel Kelliher, Accredited Specialist - Wills and Estates, Eastern Bridge Lawyers
Daniel Kelliher has practised at Eastern Bridge since July 2018, following 13 years heading the Estates and Estate Planning team at Russell Kennedy. Daniel’s practice encompasses all aspects of Estate Planning & Trusts advice; Probate and Estate Administration; Estate, Trusts & occasional Superannuation Litigation. Daniel is immediate past Chair of the Victorian Branch of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) and is also a former Chair (2016-2018) of the Law Institute of Victoria (LIV) Specialist Advisory Committee for Wills and Estates. In April 2005, Daniel graduated from Macquarie University with a Master of Law in Financial Services. He has been an LIV Accredited Wills & Estates Specialist since July 1996. Daniel’s interests outside the law centre on his family, home renovation and gardening, epicurean pursuits and touring.


Rachael Hocking, Principal Solicitor, KHQ Lawyers
Rachael acts in all areas of Wills and Estates, including estate planning, administration and litigation and is also actively involved in trust, superannuation and family disputes. Rachael appreciates the sensitivity for many people in this area and works with her clients to ensure that they feel comfortable and well informed. Her role is to assist clients through each stage of the process with compassion, understanding and discretion. Rachael acts on behalf of individuals, families, trustees, trustee companies and businesses in all aspects of litigation concerning deceased estates, testator’s family maintenance claims, superannuation (including self-managed superannuation funds), VCAT guardianship list matters, Trusts, construction proceedings, property disputes, applications by trustees, and capacity. Rachael is also a lecturer with the College of Law in the LLM (Master of Laws – Wills & Estates)


Simon Pitt SC, Barrister, Greens List
Although he has a broad commercial trial-based practice, Simon specialises in complex litigation in the Trusts, Equity and Probate List of the Supreme Court, usually involving questions regarding deceased estates, family trusts, superannuation, the Corporations Act or testamentary capacity. Simon regularly prepares and presents papers in wills and estates; trusts, equity and probate; commercial litigation and Supreme Court practice and procedure. Simon is available to advise and appear in all State and Federal jurisdictions.


Bree Ridgeway, Barrister, Victoria Bar
Bree has a general commercial and common law practice, with a focus on Wills and Estates. Prior to coming to the Bar, Bree was Associate to His Honour Justice Moore. Bree assisted His Honour in complex estate disputes in the Trusts Equity and Probate List and a broad range of trials in the Common Law Division. Before her associateship, Bree was an Accredited Specialist in Wills & Estates at Moores. As a solicitor, Bree worked in contested estates, including constructive trust claims, executor removal applications, testators family maintenance proceedings and judicial advice applications. Bree has a Master of Bioethics, and is completing her PhD in Bioethics on the relationship between decision making capacity and euthanasia. She teaches Medical Ethics at Monash University and sits on the Human Research Ethics Committee at Walter + Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research.


Elefteria Konstantinou, Barrister, Greens List
Counsel was admitted to practice in 1997 and came to the Bar in 2002. She practices in all State and Federal jurisdictions. Her focus is on wills and estates and probate litigation. She is a regular presenter at Green’s List’s Breakfast Briefings on recent developments and cases in the wills and probate jurisdiction and a regular presenter in the area with the Leo Cussen Institute and the Law Institute of Victoria. In addition to being experienced in Part IV claims made pursuant to the Administration & Probate Act 1958 Counsel gives advice to estates where an approval of compromise is sought by reason of there being a minor or a specially represented beneficiary due to disability. She has an established practice in advising trustees of trusts for applications made pursuant to O.54 of the Supreme Court (General Civil Procedure) Rules 2005 including questions surrounding access to trust documents by beneficiaries. She is regularly briefed in her role as Mediator to assist parties to resolve their estate disputes and regularly represents parties in mediations.


Allan Swan, Director, Estate Planning Equation
Allan works with private clients and their accountants, financial advisors and legal practitioners relating to the legal aspects of the following areas of Preventative Law: Asset Protection; Deceased Estate Taxation; Dispute Prevention; Estate Planning; Preventative Law Strategy; Special Disability & Protective Trusts; Structuring; Superannuation; Tax Considerations; Testamentary & Family Trusts. Allan also provides practitioner training and speaking services in the above areas and is an adjunct lecturer in the College of Law’s applied law master’s program. He is also an instructor for the Leo Cussen Centre for Law, the Law Institute of Victoria and other professional bodies. Allan is accredited as a STEP Trust and Estate Practitioner. Allan holds degrees in Law and Economics and a Graduate Diploma in Financial Services.


Greg Russo, Principal Solicitor, Greg Russo Law
Greg Russo has almost 30 years’ experience in succession planning, administration and litigation and is one of Victoria’s most experienced and respected succession law solicitors. With a background in pure mathematics, Greg not only understands the implications of planning decisions on future taxation, SMSF, trust and estate administration, he is also able to break down complex concepts and structures logically and explain options to clients in a way that empowers them to take positive action and ownership for their decisions. Using the knowledge and insights that he has acquired over three decades; he crafts unique solutions to complex succession problems. Greg teaches both mathematics and law, regularly presents CPD succession events to solicitors, accountants and other professionals in Victoria, Queensland, and online. Greg is an LIV Wills & Estates Accredited Specialist, a chairperson of the LIV Specialist Accreditation Education Advisory Committee, a board member of the Mount Eliza Community Bank, a member of STEP, and is recognised in Doyle’s Guide, in Victoria, as a Leading Wills and Estates Litigation Lawyer and a Leading Wills, Estates and Succession Planning Lawyer.


Terence Wong, Senior Associate, Sladen Legal
Terence is a Senior Associate in the Superannuation team and specialises in self-managed superannuation fund advice and document preparation. Immediately prior to joining Sladen Legal, Terence acted as Legal Practice Director for a leading national documentation company specialising in SMSF, commercial and trusts documentation, where he attended to internal and client advice requests in relation to documentation products and review and sign off for all document product types, as well as document product design, drafting, and some coding. Terence has also practiced within other areas of law broadly including financial services regulatory, mergers and acquisitions, banking and superannuation advisory (government/retail/industry fund and SMSF) with a special interest in fintech and electronic signatures having presented webinars and published with several business and academic journals on these and other topics. Terence has participated in a number of industry associations including the Law Council of Australia and Asian Australian Lawyers Association and has performed on piano with an acoustic trio at various industry functions and events.