Equity in estate litigation : setting aside inter vivos transactions post mortem on the grounds of undue influence and unconscionable bargains

Where the value of an estate of a deceased person has been diminished by intervivos transfers of property, equitable doctrines provide powerful tools for practitioners advising those who are seeking to claim benefits under wills (or an intestacy) and those seeking further and better provision from the deceased estate.

Assisting a suicide : potential succession law consequences

The recent criminal law decisions where people have been convicted of aiding suicide raise important legal and ethical issues in relation to whether euthanasia should be legalised. These cases also raise issues of great significance for succession lawyers. Where, as in cases such as Nielsen and Justins, the person convicted of aiding a suicide is a principal beneficiary under the will of the deceased, various legal consequences, such as: forfeiture of the interest under the will; liability for breach of fiduciary obligation; and/or a finding of undue influence, may follow which may result in loss of such benefit.

Lexis Nexis Questions and Answers : Equity and Trusts [4th Ed.]

"LexisNexis Questions and Answers: Equity and Trusts provides students with a clear and systematic approach to successfully analysing and answering assessment questions on equity and trusts. Each chapter commences with a discussion of key principles and issues including a summary of relevant leading cases and legislation for effective revision. Examples of written questions with fact scenarios follow, each with a suggested answer plan, sample answer and comments on how the answer might be viewed by an examiner. Readers are provided with advice on common errors to avoid when answering questions and practical hints and tips on how to achieve higher marks. Features • Summary of key issues helps students revise key areas before attempting problem questions • Sample questions with model answers assist students with effective exam study preparation"--publisher website

Equity in Australian estate litigation

Equitable claims are increasingly arising in Australian estate litigation, particularly in conjunction with family provision applications. Since the leading decision in Bridgewater v Leahy, in addition to undue influence and unconscionable bargain claims, actions based on equitable estoppel, constructive and resulting trusts, breach of fiduciary duty, and breach of legislative duties that mirror equitable obligations are increasingly being brought in contemporary estate litigation. Such litigation often raises challenging issues for claimants, including evidentiary hurdles and allegations of undue delay, especially when claims are made post-mortem in relation to inter vivos dealings with property. Accordingly, solicitors need to ensure that they fully understand the nature and potential application of equitable claims in estate litigation, or face the prospect of incurring liability to clients for professional negligence. This article explores recent trends in Australian estate litigation involving equitable claims.

An approximate method for the solution of an influence function foil rolling model

Fleck and Johnson (Int. J. Mech. Sci. 29 (1987) 507) and Fleck et al. (Proc. Inst. Mech. Eng. 206 (1992) 119) have developed foil rolling models which allow for large deformations in the roll profile, including the possibility that the rolls flatten completely. However, these models require computationally expensive iterative solution techniques. A new approach to the approximate solution of the Fleck et al. (1992) Influence Function Model has been developed using both analytic and approximation techniques. The numerical difficulties arising from solving an integral equation in the flattened region have been reduced by applying an Inverse Hilbert Transform to get an analytic expression for the pressure. The method described in this paper is applicable to cases where there is or there is not a flat region.

Influence of host plant structure and microclimate on the abundance and behaviour of Tephritid fly

Microclimate and host plant architecture significantly influence the abundance and behavior of insects. However, most research in this field has focused at the invertebrate assemblage level, with few studies at the single-species level. Using wild Solanum mauritianum plants, we evaluated the influence of plant structure (number of leaves and branches and height of plant) and microclimate (temperature, relative humidity, and light intensity) on the abundance and behavior of a single insect species, the monophagous tephritid fly Bactrocera cacuminata (Hering). Abundance and oviposition behavior were signficantly influenced by the host structure (density of foliage) and associated microclimate. Resting behavior of both sexes was influenced positively by foliage density, while temperature positively influenced the numbers of resting females. The number of ovipositing females was positively influenced by temperature and negatively by relative humidity. Feeding behavior was rare on the host plant, as was mating. The relatively low explanatory power of the measured variables suggests that, in addition to host plant architecture and associated microclimate, other cues (e.g., olfactory or visual) could affect visitation and use of the larval host plant by adult fruit flies. For 12 plants observed at dusk (the time of fly mating), mating pairs were observed on only one tree. Principal component analyses of the plant and microclimate factors associated with these plants revealed that the plant on which mating was observed had specific characteristics (intermediate light intensity, greater height, and greater quantity of fruit) that may have influenced its selection as a mating site.