Even adult stepchildren who have been adults throughout the duration of the relationship between their parent and the step-parent can still claim under the Inheritance Act. What is required to be eligible is that your step-parent (as the spouse of your parent) assumed the responsibilities and privileges of a parent.

Can a daughter be an executor?

Anyone aged 18 or above can be an executor of your will. There’s no rule against people named in your will as beneficiaries being your executors. In fact, this is very common. Many people choose their spouse or civil partner, or their children, to be an executor.

Why is the defendant executor daughter not entitled to a share of the estate?

The defendant executor daughter submitted that her sister’s relationship with their mother was such that she should be regarded as having been “estranged” from their mother, and as a result should not receive any provision out of the deceased’s estate. The Court observed that

Who is sole beneficiary of estranged daughter’s estate?

She had left a reasonably large estate of some $2 million, consisting mostly of real property. It turned out that her husband had left much of his residuary estate to the estranged daughter. The mother left everything to her younger daughter, making her the sole beneficiary. The younger daughter was also appointed executor (technically executrix).

What can an executor do to a beneficiary?

As an executor, you have a fiduciary duty to the beneficiaries of the estate. That means you must manage the estate as if it were your own, taking care with the assets. So an executor can’t do anything that intentionally harms the interests of the beneficiaries.

Can a sole executor make a Family Provision Order?

Not surprisingly, the daughter made a claim for family provision from her mother’s estate. Her sister, the sole executor, did not advance a competing financial claim. The question before the Court was whether a family provision order should be made under the statutory scheme in the Succession Act 2006 (NSW), and if so, the nature and amount.