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Snapshot

  • Pressure on older persons to make or change wills or to make other financial decisions is an obvious form of elder financial abuse.
  • The notional estate is a creature born in relation to family provision matters (will challenges) in New South Wales, but not yet adopted in any other Australian jurisdiction. 
  • The extension of notional estate provisions to all Australian jurisdictions should be considered as one part of a national approach to combatting elder abuse.

Recent law reform initiatives have grappled with the issue of our ageing population and the vulnerability of older persons to elder abuse. A widely accepted description of what constitutes elder abuse is a single or repeated act, or lack of appropriate action, occurring within any relationship where there is an expectation of trust that causes harm or distress to an older person (World Health Organisation, The Toronto Declaration on the Global Prevention of Elder Abuse, 2002).

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