Loss of capacity – an issue for all advisers

Australian Taxation Institute Journal – Loss of capacity – an issue for all advisers

by Christine Smyth, TEP, and Katerina Peiros, ATI, Hartwell Legal  Three cases about solicitor duty to ascertain if their client has capacity to give instructions in the conduct of litigation are informative to other advisers. It is old news that mental and cognitive disorders are on the rise across the population. This will not improve in our lifetime.1 Those affected by the disorders are frequently […]

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You are not god

You are not god

with Christine Smyth and Shane Budden When instructions are clear, you must prepare the will Earlier this year, Queensland Law Society invited me to co-present a webinar on the issue of testamentary capacity with ethics solicitor Shane Budden (with whom I also co-wrote this column). This year, the QLS Ethics and Practice Centre noted a marked increase in enquiries around […]

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