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.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:
Students acquire skills to enable them to draft wills and deal with deceased estates. At the conclusion of this course students should be able to:
- 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.
Other Information
When Offered and Delivery Mode: This online 8 week course is offered three times a year in the first, second and fourth 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.
Indicative Assessment
The Assessment in this course follows a matter from:
- 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.
The ANU uses Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. While the use of Turnitin is not mandatory, the ANU highly recommends Turnitin is used by both teaching staff and students. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the ANU Online website.
Workload
There are no set contact hours. Students should expect to spend about 10 - 15 hours per week in reading and course related tasks to complete the course.
Prescribed Texts
Course Content Book
Assumed Knowledge
The course is designed for law graduates intending to proceed into legal practice.
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.
It is assumed that students will have a knowledge of interview and drafting techniques from undertaking Becoming a Practitioner. These skills will be exercised and developed in this course.
Fees
Tuition fees are for the academic year indicated at the top of the page.
If you are a domestic graduate coursework or international student you will be required to pay tuition fees. Tuition fees are indexed annually. Further information for domestic and international students about tuition and other fees can be found at Fees.
- Student Contribution Band:
- 3
- Unit value:
- 3 units
If you are an undergraduate student and have been offered a Commonwealth supported place, your fees are set by the Australian Government for each course. At ANU 1 EFTSL is 48 units (normally 8 x 6-unit courses). You can find your student contribution amount for each course at Fees. Where there is a unit range displayed for this course, not all unit options below may be available.
| Units | EFTSL |
|---|---|
| 3.00 | 0.06250 |
Course fees
- Domestic fee paying students
| Year | Fee |
|---|---|
| 2015 | $1092 |
- International fee paying students
| Year | Fee |
|---|---|
| 2015 | $1431 |
Offerings, Dates and Class Summary Links
ANU utilises MyTimetable to enable students to view the timetable for their enrolled courses, browse, then self-allocate to small teaching activities / tutorials so they can better plan their time. Find out more on the Timetable webpage.
Class summaries, if available, can be accessed by clicking on the View link for the relevant class number.
Summer Session
| Class number | Class start date | Last day to enrol | Census date | Class end date | Mode Of Delivery | Class Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1308 | 19 Jan 2015 | 23 Jan 2015 | 30 Jan 2015 | 13 Mar 2015 | Online | N/A |
Autumn Session
| Class number | Class start date | Last day to enrol | Census date | Class end date | Mode Of Delivery | Class Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1508 | 30 Mar 2015 | 03 Apr 2015 | 10 Apr 2015 | 22 May 2015 | Online | N/A |
Winter Session
| Class number | Class start date | Last day to enrol | Census date | Class end date | Mode Of Delivery | Class Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1580 | 06 Jul 2015 | 10 Jul 2015 | 17 Jul 2015 | 28 Aug 2015 | Online | N/A |
Spring Session
| Class number | Class start date | Last day to enrol | Census date | Class end date | Mode Of Delivery | Class Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1540 | 14 Sep 2015 | 18 Sep 2015 | 25 Sep 2015 | 06 Nov 2015 | Online | N/A |
