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Tove Easton
PRINCIPAL LAWYER
the head of the nambour Police Station is Senior Sergeant Police Officer in charge gary Brayley, a bit of a local legend with a career in policing spanning 30 impressive years. Ht’s rebecca Mugridge enjoyed learning more about all that his police work entails.
DYING WITHOUT A WILL – WHAT HAPPENS? In the last two issues of Hinterland Times I have been discussing the requirements of a valid Will. I thought it would be a good opportunity to continue the train of thought with what could happen should you die without a valid will. If a person dies without a valid Will, that person is said to have died “intestate”. Dying without a valid will or ‘intestate’ can be very detrimental to your loved ones and also very expensive. Not only have you given away your ability to decide how your estate is to be distributed and to whom but you also run the risk of the costs of administering your estate increasing drastically and your estate being distributed to unintended beneficiaries. One example of an unintended beneficiary is an estranged spouse from whom the deceased was not formally divorced. That estranged spouse will share in the deceased’s estate under the Queensland intestacy rules despite the deceased and the estranged spouse not being in a relationship at the time of death.
by Rebecca Mugridge
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Above: Overseeing it all - Senior Sergeant Police Officer in Charge, Gary Brayley, is the centre of operations for the Nambour Police Station Below: Rotary Police Officer of the Year Nominee, Gary Brayley
The Succession Act sets out the rules to be applied in situations of intestacy. Here are some examples: • If you are married/de facto with no children, your spouse takes 100%; • If you are married/de facto with one child your spouse takes the first $150,000.00 plus the household contents. Assets after this are divided equally between the spouse and the child • If you are married/de facto with two or more children your spouse takes the first $150,000.00 plus the household contents. Assets after this are divided 1/3 for the spouse and 2/3 equally between the children. In situations where you do not have any close relatives the rules provide that your estate must go to relatives that are further removed from you. Another problem with dying intestate is the need for court approval for the appointment of someone to administer your estate. In a will you would appoint an executor of your choice. However with an intestacy, your loved ones would have to apply to the Supreme Court for an administrator to be appointed. In the absence of a suitable person the Supreme Court may appoint the Public Trustee.
Tove is Easton Lawyers’ full time principal lawyer and also the Hinterland’s longest serving principal lawyer serving since January 2004. She specializes in all commercial law matters as well as wills and estates, leases, partnership and company matters. She has always had a policy of providing the first consultation free of charge. That gives clients peace of mind that they are not up for legal fees before they have even had advice on their questions.
He NAMBouR PoLiCe Station sits perched upon a slight hill, behind the town courthouse. it is a demountable building like you might find in outback schools. it was originally only designed to be a temporary solution, officially opened on August 24 in 2006 by the Honourable Judy Spence MP. the station’s Senior Sergeant Police officer in Charge, Gary Brayley, has a warm and friendly smile that immediately makes you feel welcome. it is a great contrast to the authority in his presence that comes from years of policing. An impressive combination. When i first arrive, he is finishing a special one-on-one tour with a local young man who regularly visits the station. the young man and his mother’s huge smiles as they leave shows immediately the impact Gary has on those around him, the time he has for people. You can tell he is the kind of leader that communities really bond with. Gary has been at the Nambour Station for ten years, one third of his policing career. A career that has also seen him work in some incredible parts of our state. “i arrived here in June 2009 after transferring from
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