In order to claim
an inheritance, you will have to file with the court a legal document that will
serve as notification to the court and to the custodian of the estate that you
might be legally entitled to part of or even all of the inheritance. This document
is commonly known as a “demand letter’ and will contain your name or the name
of the person submitting the demand, a statement describing the connection to
the estate, an address for mailing, phone contact number(s), and the name of
the person who has deceased.
After you have
filed the demand for notice, it will then obligate the court clerk and the
custodian of the estate to transfer copies of every document which has been
filed with the court to you or the person who filed the demand.
Endorsement
If you wish to make
a claim on an inheritance, you will have to send an endorsed copy of your
demand for notice to the custodian of the estate. The word "endorsed"
in such a case means that the court has now placed an official stamp on the request
for notice. This stamp will display the date that you have filed the document
with the court, along with the signature of the court clerk
The custodian of
an estate can be a personal representative or a public trustee NSW. The person who is then serving as the custodian
is legally bound to gather the property of the deceased person and then go
about the distribution of such property compatible to a valid will or, when
there is no valid will, compatible to the law.
A Valid Will or Intestate
You are obviously
able to claim any type of inheritance if you are entitled to inherit through a
valid legal will. However, should there be no valid will, then you will have to
claim one through a jurisdiction’s intestate law. The term “intestate” means
that someone died without leaving behind a valid will and Australianstates have
statutes that establish intestate succession of all property. This basically means
that, if a person passes away without a valid will, the law will then go on to control
who has the legal right to inherit.
Anyone who is
claiming inheritances must behave with a degree of diligence to protect his or
her rights. Any type of failure to claim an inheritance within a certain time period
can result in losing out on an inheritance, because the law is prone to
establish certain deadlines for someone to declare his or her rights. You would
be wise to consult with a probate lawyer to fully comprehend the particular
laws to claim your inheritance. For instance, should a will excludes you from
inheriting, the will may not be deemed valid and the probate lawyer may be able
to successfully challenge the legitimacy of the will.
Do it right by
consulting those who are legally in the know.
