SUPERANNUATION DEATH BENEFITS
SUPERANNUATION DEATH BENEFITS: CLAIM STAKING
Superannuation is rapidly becoming a major part of post death assets for many Australians. Frequently these very large “pots of money” are not inherited through someone’s will, but are available (usually to dependents) outside the estate.
Sometimes the Superannuation Member who has died has made a water-tight binding nomination of the person/s who will receive his/her Death Benefit; frequently a nomination has not been made, or a nomination fails. In both cases an opportunity is provided for genuine dependents to stake their claim to these often very significant amounts of money.
THE CLAIM STAKING PROCESS
Superannuation fund trust deeds give the trustee of the fund a discretion with respect to distribution of death benefits. When the superannuation member dies, the trustee will notify possible dependents of the death, and sometimes of how they propose to pay out the death benefits. If someone believes that they should be a recipient, or that they should receive more share than is proposed, then they have 28 days to stake their claim.
who can make a claim
Superannuation death benefits can be paid to a dependant of the deceased member or to their legal personal representative (usually the executor of the will). Dependants include a spouse (including a de facto spouse), children and interdependent relationships, or people who were financially dependant on the deceased member. Claim stakers need to provide evidence that they fit within these categories.
submissions to the trustee
The de facto spouse in D14-15\198 [2015] SCTA 58 provides an example of the type of evidence a claimant needs to provide to support their claim. In this matter the Trustee had decided that the claimant was a de facto spouse, and that she was entitled to 40% of the available superannuation (which meant the de facto received around $100,000).
The evidence in the de facto’s submission included:
a variety of payments from her bank account on behalf of the deceased
she and the deceased were committed to buying a house together in which to live together as a couple, as evidenced by the statement of the real estate agent
the employer had contacted her on the day of the deceased’s death to offer his condolences and had offered to pay for the funeral.
there were copies of many condolence cards sent directly to her
there were copies of many text messages between herself and the deceased member which demonstrated how inter-locked their lives were
The claimant was successful in proving she was, indeed, a de facto spouse and that the share that she received in the Trustee’s discretion was appropriate.
Flanagan Legal Newcastle can provide advice regarding the likelihood of a death benefit claim being successful and, if this appears likely, to provide the expertise to assist the claimant in organising and collating a submission to stake their claim. The initial discussion is free.