Mary and Caroline secure their future

Mary* and Caroline* have been in a relationship since 1998, and in 2007, welcomed their son, Matthew* into the world. Due to the family laws in Australia at the time, Caroline was not legally recognised as a parent on Matthew’s birth certificate, as she did not carry him.

In 2009, a suite of family law reforms around same-sex relationships were passed in Australia, and while Mary and Caroline’s partnership was now recognised as a de facto relationship, Caroline was still not recognised as Matthew’s parent. This motivated Mary and Caroline to write a Will with Queensland Public Trustee, to protect Matthew, in the unfortunate case that something happened to either of them.

Whilst their families knew their wishes, they were not guaranteed their desired outcome in the eyes of the law and wanted to safeguard theirs and Matthew’s future, particularly while he was so young.

In 2010, Queensland law changes allowed Caroline to be formally recognised as Matthew’s parent, and in 2018, one year after the legalisation of same-sex marriage in Australia, Mary and Caroline were married. Given the significant shift in their situation, they decided it was time to update their Will.

While there were less complexities this time, they wanted their updated Will to reflect both the number of changes to the law, and to their personal life. During each of their Will appointments with Queensland Public Trustee, Mary and Caroline were delighted with how kind and accommodating their Will officers were, ensuring they explored all of their options thoroughly, whilst making them feel comfortable and supported throughout the process.

*Names changed for privacy