which prevents the evidence being used against her in subsequent proceedings<\/a>.<\/p>\n\u201cShe admitted under examination that she had misappropriated a total of $1,141,286.15 (after payment of estate expenses),\u201d the judge said.<\/p>\n
Asked if she needed the money, she said: \u201cI didn\u2019t need it. I wanted it\u201d. When it was put to her that she knew what she was doing was wrong, she replied: \u201cYes, I knew I was going to get in trouble.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe spent it on a range of personal expenditure, living expenses, entertainment, gambling, legal expenses and on gifts for her [family],\u201d Slattery said.<\/p>\n
The judge said the woman\u2019s admitted misconduct disqualified her from continuing as administrator of the estate, but it was \u201cnot realistic\u201d for an independent administrator to step in because there were insufficient funds to cover their costs.<\/p>\n
He invited the other family members \u201cto discuss among themselves which of them should be appointed\u201d. If they can\u2019t agree, the court will appoint an administrator.<\/p>\n
\u2018This case shows what can happen when professional oversight disappears: beneficiaries can lose their inheritance overnight.\u2019<\/p>\n
Mary-Ann de Mestre, lawyer<\/p>\n
Slattery ordered that the evidence in the case and his decision be referred to NSW Attorney-General Michael Daley for \u201cconsideration \u2026 as to whether any, and if so what, criminal action may be warranted\u201d.<\/p>\n
However, he said that his order \u201cdoes not of itself indicate that this court has reached the view that [a] criminal offence has been committed\u201d.<\/p>\n
The judge also referred his decision to the Law Society of NSW for consideration of potential law reform to ensure beneficiaries are told if lawyers are going to cease acting for an estate with no replacement organised.<\/p>\n
Mary-Ann de Mestre, principal of Sydney law firm M de Mestre Lawyers, is a lecturer in succession law at Macquarie University.<\/p>\n
She said the case should serve as a \u201cwake-up call\u201d that \u201cestates are vulnerable when left without professional supervision\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople are under enormous financial strain. We are seeing a rise in \u2018inheritance impatience\u2019 where beneficiaries under pressure try to access estate funds before they are entitled to them,\u201d de Mestre said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis case shows what can happen when professional oversight disappears: beneficiaries can lose their inheritance overnight.\u201d<\/p>\n
She said the decision was \u201ca stark illustration of the dangers of having an estate administrator who is also a beneficiary and who operates without adequate oversight\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is a clear gap in the law: once solicitors step out, no one is required to tell the beneficiaries. That lack of transparency puts estates at real risk,\u201d de Mestre said.<\/p>\n
She said that in many estates \u201csolicitor supervision ensures funds are held in trust accounts, payments are scrutinised, and distributions are properly authorised\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cWithout that supervision, the risk profile shifts dramatically, but beneficiaries are usually not told,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
She said it was rare for a judge in a civil case to refer an administrator to the attorney-general for possible criminal investigation and it \u201csends a very clear message that the conduct crossed a line\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe court was minded to recommend a simple but important reform: a rule requiring that when an estate\u2019s solicitor intends to cease acting, and no new solicitor is taking over, the outgoing practitioner must notify all beneficiaries in advance,\u201d de Mestre said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis would give beneficiaries the opportunity to ask the court to keep funds protected.\u201d<\/p>\n
Start the day with a summary of the day\u2019s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cHer maladministration of the estate has now left only a residue of a little under $170,000 for distribution.\u201d…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":182790,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[138,246,111,139,69,244,245],"class_list":{"0":"post-182789","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-personal-finance","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-finance","10":"tag-new-zealand","11":"tag-newzealand","12":"tag-nz","13":"tag-personal-finance","14":"tag-personalfinance"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/182789","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=182789"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/182789\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/182790"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=182789"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=182789"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=182789"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}