Family lawyers regularly confront wills, estates and capacity issues that can undermine your family law matters or cause issues for your clients later. Gain essential practical guidance on identifying estate‑planning risks at the first consult, understanding when relationships and relationship disputes trigger succession law consequences, and recognising asset, superannuation and succession issues that require your urgent attention. You will develop insight into post‑settlement estate planning, capacity disputes and family provision claims - helping you to protect outcomes achieved in family law proceedings, reduce downstream disputes, and work more effectively alongside wills and estates practitioners.  

Presenters

Susan Warda, Partner, Mills Oakley
Susan Warda is a Partner with national law firm Mills Oakley, an Accredited Specialist in Family Law, a Collaborative Lawyer, and a trained Parenting Coordinator. With extensive expertise in family law matters that involve complex financial issues, including property settlements dealing with family businesses, multiple assets, and superannuation splitting, she is highly regarded for both her knowledge and her professional approach. As an experienced mediator and trained collaborative law practitioner, Susan brings a wealth of experience working alongside other professionals to resolve clients’ disputes outside the Court system. Susan has played a pioneering role in the development of collaborative practice in Australia and is an advocate for alternative dispute resolution. As well as property and financial issues, Susan also acts for parents in a wide range of parenting disputes including Hague Convention Applications for international child abduction and complex matters concerning parenting arrangements. Susan is a fellow of the International Academy of Family Lawyers (IAFL) and her achievements have seen her named again by Best Lawyers Australia Family Law 2024 as well as a Leading Family & Divorce Lawyer Sydney and a Leading Family Lawyer High Value & Complex Property Matters in the Doyle’s 2023 Guide. An active member of the profession and the community, Susan holds Board positions with the Australian Association of Collaborative Professionals and Variety the Children’s Charity Asia Pacific.


John Butler, Consultant and Notary Public, HopgoodGanim Lawyers
John is a Consultant & Notary Public in our Family & Relationship Law and Estate & Succession practice at HopgoodGanim Lawyers.  With over 50 years of experience, John brings a wealth of knowledge and consistently achieves the best possible outcomes for his clients. John is experienced in Business & Estate Planning, Wills & Estates, Guardianship & Administration and Family Law.  John is an active member of his community, having served in the Australian Army Reserve for 13 years as a Commissioned Officer, is presently on the Reserve of Officers and is an active member of the Rotary Club of Matilda Bay where he leads initiatives that promote humanitarian service, good will and peace worldwide.

Rebecca Gilbert, Partner, Pearson Emerson Family Law
Rebecca was admitted to practice as a solicitor of the Supreme Court of New South Wales and High Court in July 2013. She holds a Bachelor of Laws (Honours) and a Bachelor of Arts from Macquarie University. She also holds a Masters of Law from Australian National University. Rebecca is a Family Law Specialist accredited by the Law Society of NSW. Doyles Guide recognised Rebecca as a Rising Star in family law in the Australian Legal market for 2019. Rebecca joined Pearson Emerson Family Lawyers in 2018 after practicing in family law as a solicitor for 5 years. During her time in practice, Rebecca has gained experience in all manner of family law matters, along with matters in other areas of law including conveyancing, family provision and estates, and civil litigation. Rebecca has refined her practice to work exclusively in Family Law and holds a passion for work on both complex property and parenting matters. She is focused on achieving results which minimise the stress which is often the result of difficult separations and the breakdown of families and maximise the benefits for her clients. Rebecca is collaboratively trained and can offer this as an alternative way for clients to reach a commercially sound resolution to their dispute.


Michelle Painter SC, Nine Selborne Chambers
Michelle practices primarily in commercial law, involving all manner of commercial disputes, as well as equity and trusts, and family provision and probate. She also has extensive experience representing directors and corporations in regulatory enforcement matters. Michelle has been a barrister since 1998 and took silk in 2013. She has been involved for many years with the NSW Bar Association’s Bar Practice Course, where she presents on the art (and the slog) of cross examination.

Paul Fildes, Principal, Taussig Cherrie Fildes Family Lawyers
Paul Fildes is an Accredited Family Law Specialist and has been practising in family law since 1983. He has been ranked as one of only five Preeminent Family Lawyers by Doyle’s Guide for Melbourne 2019. Paul Fildes was previously the head of Middletons’ Family Law Practice Group (now K & L Gates), which he merged with Taussig Cherrie & Associates in 2010, to become Taussig Cherrie Fildes. Paul specialises in large scale family law property litigation, complex Financial Agreements, defacto property cases and restructuring family property in a tax effective manner. He also has a special interest in international relocation cases, and cross-border disputes involving the adjustment and treatment of assets located internationally, including Europe, the United Kingdom and the United States of America. Paul is a presenter of Case Watch on the Television Education Network which produces educational presentations and material for lawyers. He has published numerous papers and comments on current family law issues. Paul also regularly presents at seminars on behalf of various professional bodies on a wide variety of family law topics, with an emphasis on complex financial matters. He is a qualified Family Law arbitrator and mediator, and is also a trained collaborative lawyer. Paul is a Fellow of the International Academy of Family Lawyers (IAFL) and was a former Chair and Executive member of the Family Law Section of the Law Institute of Victoria. He was previously the Victorian Solicitor Representative of the Family Law Section of the Law Council of Australia, and a former Chair of the FLS National Biennial Family Law Conference and on the Board at Relationships Australia (Vic).

Guy Moloney, Partner, HWLE Lawyers
Guy is the head of litigation in HWL Ebsworth’s Wills and Estate Planning practice group, and has specialised exclusively in complex Estate Litigation and Estate Planning matters for the last 7 years. In that time Guy has run family provision cases of all degrees of complexity; will rectification proceedings; statutory will proceedings; testamentary capacity proceedings; administration suits and executor default suits in the Supreme Courts of New South Wales, Victoria and the ACT. Before focusing exclusively on estates, Guy had more than a decade’s experience in insolvency, tax and general commercial litigation. Guy’s experience in estate disputes is brought to bear when advising clients on the creation of a robust and secure estate plan. In 2021 Guy was recognised as a “Rising Star – Wills, Estates and Succession Planning“ in Doyles Guide. Guy was also invited to edit the CCH Online “New South Wales Wills in Practice Commentary” regarding estate litigation and inducted by invitation into The Kronberg Circle, a European Society of Estate Planning lawyers and Public Notaries. Guy commenced his career working as a Tipstaff for the Honourable Justice Palmer in the NSW Supreme Court and has a Masters in Commercial Law from UNSW.