LLB346 Succession Law
To view more information for this unit, select Unit Outline from the list below. Please note the teaching period for which the Unit Outline is relevant.
| Unit code: | LLB346 |
|---|---|
| Prerequisite(s): | LWB241 or LLB205 |
| Antirequisite(s): | LWB309 |
| Credit points: | 12 |
| Timetable | Details in HiQ, if available |
| Availabilities |
|
| CSP student contribution | $1,394 |
| Domestic tuition unit fee | $2,748 |
| International unit fee | $3,780 |
Unit Outline: Semester 1 2020, Gardens Point, Internal
| Unit code: | LLB346 |
|---|---|
| Credit points: | 12 |
| Pre-requisite: | LWB241 or LLB205 |
| Anti-requisite: | LWB309 |
| Coordinator: | Kelly Purser | k.purser@qut.edu.au |
Overview
Our legal system is premised on the right of individuals to own private property. As succession deals with the legal consequences of death on a person's property, it is a natural and logical part of a complete course in real property. It has links to other important areas of law, namely equity and trusts and family law, and is considered by some to be a branch of family law, because the redistribution of property usually occurs in the family context.
Succession is a strongly developing area of legal practice. Family provision actions are increasing as many more persons challenge will dispositions or inheritance by way of intestacy on the grounds of inadequate provision. Estate planning is becoming a major area of practice. The notion of what is the 'estate' at death is a developing area of law, with some inter vivos transactions being set aside as unconscionable bargains or contracts being of limited effect. The effect of these developing remedies is to increase the 'estate' available to be distributed at death. Some states have an expanded concept of a 'notional estate', which may be introduced in Queensland with the development of Uniform Probate Laws. Succession with its links to real property, equity and family law will assist you to see the links connection between different areas of law.
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this unit you will be able to:
- Explain the fundamental principles of succession law, in particular the Queensland Succession Act 1981 (CLO 1.1)
- Analyse the role of a personal representative in winding up an estate and apply the basic principles of estate planning (CLO 1.1)
- Critically evaluate the growing intersection between equitable principles and succession rules in determining the 'estate' at death (CLO 2.3)
- Investigate the historical development of the rules and the potential for reform (particularly developments in relation to Uniform Probate Laws) in response to changing social and economic conditions (CLOs 1.4, 2.3)
- Communicate clearly and concisely, applying persuasive writing skills and legal writing conventions (CLO 4.1)
Content
- general principles of will making and construction
- rules of intestacy
- payment of debts and the order of application of assets
- family provision
- introduction to estate planning
- duties and powers of personal representatives.
Learning Approaches
This unit employs a problem-based and collaborative approach to learning that encourages you to practice applying the law to theoretical and factual scenarios, and develop skills in providing practical advice for the resolution of real world problems.
Your participation in the unit will include:
- Independent engagement with interactive online modules to support the development of your understanding and skills
- Interactive workshops designed to provide opportunities for you to interact with the lecturers and your peers. As the workshops are designed to build on the required readings and learning activities, and enable discussion of key concepts and provide opportunities to practice your skills, you are expected to complete the online learning and prescribed readings prior to the workshop. The workshops will be recorded and available for all students.
Feedback on Learning and Assessment
Feedback on the development of your understanding of the law and skills learnt in this unit is provided through:
- interaction during workshops (internal students)
- the individual written feedback on your assignment
- the generic feedback on the assignment, placed on the unit's Blackboard site
- the generic feedback on the examination, placed on the unit's Blackboard site, and
- the option of private consultation with a member of the teaching team during student consultation.
You should reflect upon the feedback on your assessment in this unit (both your individual and generic feedback as provided on Blackboard) for the purpose of identifying: - gaps in your knowledge and understanding of the legal principles
- inadequacies in your problem solving methodology
- strategies to improve your problem solving, oral and written communication skills in further assessment, and
- areas for improvement for future studies within the LLB(Hons).
You should record your work, the feedback and your reflection, noting your strategies for improvement, in your Student ePortfolio.
Assessment
Overview
In this unit you will be graded on a scale of one to seven.
Overview of Assessment
Summative assessment will be based on your assignment and end-of-semester examination.
Faculty Assessment Information
To access the Law Faculty Assessment Information, see the Blackboard site for this unit.
Unit Grading Scheme
7- point scale
Assessment Tasks
Assessment: Research Paper
Acting as a junior lawyer, you have been asked by your senior partner to write a critique of a current issue in succession law and/or policy, which requires you to present differing points of view informing your argument - which will be based on critical reasoning and analysis of relevant sources, including cases and legislation.
Assessment: Online Examination (Theory)
Timed end of semester examination assessing whole of unit content when applied to practical scenarios and theory based questions.
Academic Integrity
Academic integrity is a commitment to undertaking academic work and assessment in a manner that is ethical, fair, honest, respectful and accountable.
The Academic Integrity Policy sets out the range of conduct that can be a failure to maintain the standards of academic integrity. This includes, cheating in exams, plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion and contract cheating. It also includes providing fraudulent or altered documentation in support of an academic concession application, for example an assignment extension or a deferred exam.
You are encouraged to make use of QUT’s learning support services, resources and tools to assure the academic integrity of your assessment. This includes the use of text matching software that may be available to assist with self-assessing your academic integrity as part of the assessment submission process.
Breaching QUT’s Academic Integrity Policy or engaging in conduct that may defeat or compromise the purpose of assessment can lead to a finding of student misconduct (Code of Conduct – Student) and result in the imposition of penalties under the Management of Student Misconduct Policy, ranging from a grade reduction to exclusion from QUT.
Resources
Online resources for this unit are available on its Blackboard site.
Resource Materials
Prescribed text(s)
Legislation: Succession Act 1981 (Qld)
Text: Ken Mackie, Principles of Australian Succession Law (LexisNexis Butterworths, 3rd edition, 2017)
Recommended text(s)
AA Preece, Lee's Manual of Queensland Succession Law (Thomson Reuters, 8th ed, 2019)
RF Atherton and P Vines, Succession - Families, Property and Death (LexisNexs Butterworths, 4th ed, 2013)
Risk Assessment Statement
There are no out-of-the-ordinary risks associated with this unit.
Unit Outline: Semester 1 2020, Gardens Point, External
| Unit code: | LLB346 |
|---|---|
| Credit points: | 12 |
| Pre-requisite: | LWB241 or LLB205 |
| Anti-requisite: | LWB309 |
| Coordinator: | Kelly Purser | k.purser@qut.edu.au |
Overview
Our legal system is premised on the right of individuals to own private property. As succession deals with the legal consequences of death on a person's property, it is a natural and logical part of a complete course in real property. It has links to other important areas of law, namely equity and trusts and family law, and is considered by some to be a branch of family law, because the redistribution of property usually occurs in the family context.
Succession is a strongly developing area of legal practice. Family provision actions are increasing as many more persons challenge will dispositions or inheritance by way of intestacy on the grounds of inadequate provision. Estate planning is becoming a major area of practice. The notion of what is the 'estate' at death is a developing area of law, with some inter vivos transactions being set aside as unconscionable bargains or contracts being of limited effect. The effect of these developing remedies is to increase the 'estate' available to be distributed at death. Some states have an expanded concept of a 'notional estate', which may be introduced in Queensland with the development of Uniform Probate Laws. Succession with its links to real property, equity and family law will assist you to see the links connection between different areas of law.
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this unit you will be able to:
- Explain the fundamental principles of succession law, in particular the Queensland Succession Act 1981 (CLO 1.1)
- Analyse the role of a personal representative in winding up an estate and apply the basic principles of estate planning (CLO 1.1)
- Critically evaluate the growing intersection between equitable principles and succession rules in determining the 'estate' at death (CLO 2.3)
- Investigate the historical development of the rules and the potential for reform (particularly developments in relation to Uniform Probate Laws) in response to changing social and economic conditions (CLOs 1.4, 2.3)
- Communicate clearly and concisely, applying persuasive writing skills and legal writing conventions (CLO 4.1)
Content
- general principles of will making and construction
- rules of intestacy
- payment of debts and the order of application of assets
- family provision
- introduction to estate planning
- duties and powers of personal representatives.
Learning Approaches
This unit employs a problem-based and collaborative approach to learning that encourages you to practice applying the law to theoretical and factual scenarios, and develop skills in providing practical advice for the resolution of real world problems.
Your participation in the unit will include:
- Independent engagement with interactive online modules to support the development of your understanding and skills
- Interactive workshops designed to provide opportunities for you to interact with the lecturers and your peers. As the workshops are designed to build on the required readings and learning activities, and enable discussion of key concepts and provide opportunities to practice your skills, you are expected to complete the online learning and prescribed readings prior to the workshop. The workshops will be recorded and available for all students.
Feedback on Learning and Assessment
Feedback on the development of your understanding of the law and skills learnt in this unit is provided through:
- interaction during workshops (internal students)
- the individual written feedback on your assignment
- the generic feedback on the assignment, placed on the unit's Blackboard site
- the generic feedback on the examination, placed on the unit's Blackboard site, and
- the option of private consultation with a member of the teaching team during student consultation.
You should reflect upon the feedback on your assessment in this unit (both your individual and generic feedback as provided on Blackboard) for the purpose of identifying: - gaps in your knowledge and understanding of the legal principles
- inadequacies in your problem solving methodology
- strategies to improve your problem solving, oral and written communication skills in further assessment, and
- areas for improvement for future studies within the LLB(Hons).
You should record your work, the feedback and your reflection, noting your strategies for improvement, in your Student ePortfolio.
Assessment
Overview
In this unit you will be graded on a scale of one to seven.
Overview of Assessment
Summative assessment will be based on your assignment and end-of-semester examination.
Faculty Assessment Information
To access the Law Faculty Assessment Information, see the Blackboard site for this unit.
Unit Grading Scheme
7- point scale
Assessment Tasks
Assessment: Research Paper
Acting as a junior lawyer, you have been asked by your senior partner to write a critique of a current issue in succession law and/or policy, which requires you to present differing points of view informing your argument - which will be based on critical reasoning and analysis of relevant sources, including cases and legislation.
Assessment: Online Examination (Theory)
Timed end of semester examination assessing whole of unit content when applied to practical scenarios and theory based questions.
Academic Integrity
Academic integrity is a commitment to undertaking academic work and assessment in a manner that is ethical, fair, honest, respectful and accountable.
The Academic Integrity Policy sets out the range of conduct that can be a failure to maintain the standards of academic integrity. This includes, cheating in exams, plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion and contract cheating. It also includes providing fraudulent or altered documentation in support of an academic concession application, for example an assignment extension or a deferred exam.
You are encouraged to make use of QUT’s learning support services, resources and tools to assure the academic integrity of your assessment. This includes the use of text matching software that may be available to assist with self-assessing your academic integrity as part of the assessment submission process.
Breaching QUT’s Academic Integrity Policy or engaging in conduct that may defeat or compromise the purpose of assessment can lead to a finding of student misconduct (Code of Conduct – Student) and result in the imposition of penalties under the Management of Student Misconduct Policy, ranging from a grade reduction to exclusion from QUT.
Resources
Online resources for this unit are available on its Blackboard site.
Resource Materials
Prescribed text(s)
Legislation: Succession Act 1981 (Qld)
Text: Ken Mackie, Principles of Australian Succession Law (LexisNexis Butterworths, 3rd edition, 2017)
Recommended text(s)
AA Preece, Lee's Manual of Queensland Succession Law (Thomson Reuters, 8th ed, 2019)
RF Atherton and P Vines, Succession - Families, Property and Death (LexisNexs Butterworths, 4th ed, 2013)
Risk Assessment Statement
There are no out-of-the-ordinary risks associated with this unit.