Amanda’s story*
Amanda was a young widow with three small children when she met Michael. They embarked on a relationship that ended up lasting for more than 20 years, although they never married.
Over their decades together, Michael was a father figure to Amanda’s children, who grew up with the couple in the home Amanda had purchased with her first husband and father of her kids.
Amanda and Michael made joint Wills that ensured that, should one die, the other would inherit their estate. Amanda always assumed she’d outlive Michael, but in the unexpected event she didn’t, she was confident he’d leave their assets to her children, whom he’d had always loved as his own.
Amanda was diagnosed with a terminal condition in her 40s and died soon after, just as her children reached adulthood. Michael continued his close relationship with Amanda’s children. But while he revoked his old Will that had left his estate to Amanda, he procrastinated about making a new Will, thinking he’d do so once he’d recovered from the loss of his de facto partner.
Without a valid Will, Amanda’s siblings inherit the house
However, Michael developed a debilitating illness and his Will was never made. When he died, Michael’s estate was distributed among his only living relatives – his brother in New Zealand and his sister in Adelaide – while Amanda’s children inherited nothing.
The children considered making a family provision application for a share of Michael’s estate, but decided that they preferred to avoid the expense and further potential heartbreak of lengthy legal action. Michael’s sister moved into the children’s family home.
Why Queensland law decides who inherits
In Queensland, the Succession Act 1981 (Qld) applies where there’s no valid Will, and children are high in the succession order set out by the law. But stepchildren, including de facto stepchildren, have no automatic inheritance rights.
If you want your stepchildren to benefit from your estate but haven’t made a Will, your estate may pass in a way that doesn’t reflect your wishes. A Will isn’t just something to think about later in life.
Find out more about why a valid Will is vital
* This is a fictionalised case study created for the purpose of illustrating succession law concepts. Any resemblance to an individual, living or deceased, is purely coincidental.