Only an “eligible person” can contest a Will. 

An “eligible person” includes:   

(a) A person who was the spouse or defacto partner of the deceased iperson at the time of their death; 

(b) A child of the deceased – biological or adopted;   

(c) A person with whom the deceased was living in a close personal relationship at the time of their death;   

(d) A person who was at any time wholly or partially financially dependent on the deceased and was a member of the deceased’s household; or   

(e) Grandchildren of the deceased, but only if they were financially dependent on the deceased.    

A stepchild is not a “child’ for the purposes of the definition of an eligible person but may still be able to make a claim if the stepchild was a member of household and was partly or wholly dependent on the deceased; 

 In the case where no agreement can be reached, one party will make an application to the court and the court will decide what the parenting orders should be (taking into account the best interests of the child).  

The court requires separating families who have a dispute about children to make a genuine effort to try and reach agreement through family dispute resolution before an application is filed with the court, unless an exemption applies (such as family violence, child abuse or there is an urgent need to file the application).  

There are practical benefits of trying to reach an agreement without going to court such as avoiding the stress associated with court proceedings, resolving the dispute quickly and avoiding the costs of a contested court application. 

TL;DR: You’ll need to try family dispute resolution first. If that fails, the court will decide parenting arrangements based on the child’s best interests. This is a summary only and not legal advice. See full answer above or speak to a child custody lawyer at Lawpoint today for guidance tailored to your situation.