Almost every private practice drafts wills. However in recent years this area of practice is taking on a previously unknown complexity and is fast becoming a recognised specialist area of practice. This is due to an aging population with more complex family and property arrangements.

Even if you are not in private practice, you will find that friends and relatives ask you about their wills. For that reason will drafting is a primary focus in the course. Although not every practice applies for grants of representation or administers estates, every practitioner needs enough background knowledge of estate administration and estate planning issues to identify where a client needs further advice.

There are considerable variations on central themes in legislation and procedures in the different Australian jurisdictions. As well as jurisdiction specific knowledge practitioners need a grasp of the central themes and the ability to work out the local jurisdiction's variations, particularly by using the legislation. This course addresses these needs.

• interview a client and take instructions for preparation of a Will
• draft a simple Will and have an understanding of the requirements for more complex Wills
• demonstrate knowledge of the forms and procedures for making an application for grants of probate and letters of administration
• demonstrate an ability to administer and distribute estates both testate and intestate
• discuss and explain estate planning issues including Superannuation and Capital Gains Tax
• discuss and advise a client on Family Provision legislation.

• preparation for taking instructions from a client for drafting a Will, to
• interviewing the client to take instructions and give advice, to
• preparing a Will Plan, to
• drafting a  Will, to
• the Administration of the estate after the client's death.

It is not assumed that students have knowledge of law in any substantive areas. Many areas of law touch upon this subject, Property Law, Family Law, Trusts and of course Succession Law to name but a few. While knowledge in these areas is an advantage it is NOT a requirement. Every attempt is made to explain concepts from substantive areas of Law.

If you intend using IT supplied by your employer, please be aware that you are likely to experience difficulties accessing key on-line resources due to firewall and security restrictions.

The computer you intend to use should meet the following minimum specifications.

Hardware

• CD ROM/ DVD Player
• Sound Card and speakers
• Video Card
• Modem
• Broadband (dial-up access is not recommended) access to an Internet Service Provider (ISP)
• Printer

Software

• The recommended web browsers are Internet Explorer or Safari
• Adobe Acrobat Reader (Free download)
• Real Player (Free download)
• Microsoft Word

When Offered and Delivery Mode:  This online 8 week course is offered twice a year in the 1^st and 3^rd teaching periods.

Classificatin in Graduate Studies Select:  Specialist. In addition an elective in the GDLP program, can be used as part of the articulation into the LLM and LLM (in practice) programs.