Changes have been made to the way family provision cases are managed in the Supreme Court of Victoria.
The latest version of Practice Note SC CL 7 (Second revision) provides guidance on how proceedings in the Testators Family Maintenance List are managed by the court.
Family provision claims made under Part IV of the Administration and Probate Act 1958 are commenced in the Testator’s Family Maintenance List, in accordance with Order 16 of the Supreme Court (Miscellaneous Civil Proceedings) Rules 2018.
The main procedural changes for management of family provision cases from the previous version of the practice note are:
- an increase in the threshold above which a provision statement, rather than an affidavit, is required to be filed – this will now apply to estates with a valuation of less than $1,00,000 rather than $750,000;
- introduction of a requirement for the parties to attend at the first directions hearing unless they are otherwise advised by the court;
- in some circumstances, where position statements or affidavits result in the judge hearing oral evidence, the costs of preparing and responding to position statements and affidavits may be ordered separately to the costs of the overall proceedings;
- an increase in the threshold below which the court may refer the proceeding to mediation before a judge or a Specified Court Officer, from estates under $750,000 to estates under $1,000,000;
- communication about proceedings in the list can now be made to the Testator’s Family Maintenance Coordinator via email: tfm@supcourt.vic.gov.au.
Links in the commentary in the By Lawyers Family Provision Claims (VIC) publication have been updated to the new version of the practice note.