Law Report

ABC Australia

From courtroom dramas to miscarriages of justice, to how the law affects you — and so much more. The Law Report is your accessible guide to the big legal stories unfolding in Australia and across the world.

  1. 14 Aug

    02 | The will written on a frozen fish packet

    A frozen fish packet. An unsent text. A tractor fender. Courts have accepted all of these as valid wills. You want to write a will and make sure that your assets go to those who you think deserve your generosity. So, how can you make sure the will is binding? Does it need to be a formal document, printed out and signed with a pen? Or can a valid will be a word document, an email or text message? Can it be written on a frozen fish packet or the wall in your home? Wills expert Professor Pru Vines of UNSW walks through the strangest cases courts have accepted, including a British man who left his entire estate to charity on fish and mince pie packaging, a dying Canadian farmer who scratched his wishes into a tractor after it rolled on him, an unsent phone text upheld in Queensland, and a woman who recorded her will on a smartphone while chastising her children. The Law Report's special series Over My Dead Body looks at how courts decide whether an unconventional or irregular will is or isn't valid. A warning, this conversation makes multiple references to suicide, so take care when listening. It also does not represent or replace legal advice.

    02 | The will written on a frozen fish packet

  2. 14 Aug

    03 | He worked the farm for decades and got nothing

    You work the family farm your whole life, then it's left to someone else. When drafting a will, the law says you don't have to be fair or equal in deciding who will receive your estate. So, after you pass away, can disgruntled family members or friends challenge your will in the courts? Conflicts over inheritance arise in many families but are particularly fraught and complex in farming families. Andrew Lawson of the Australian Centre for Agriculture and Law at the University of New England explains why the farm behaves almost like a third party in the family, and how the courts weigh need over fairness.  He unpacks a $20 million farm fight where two siblings sued the estate and only one won, and the High Court case of a share farmer who toiled for decades on the promise the land would be his, only to see it left to someone else. The Law Report's special series Over My Dead Body looks at farming family fallouts over inheritance and the unique challenges they create around succession. This conversation does not represent or replace legal advice.

    03 | He worked the farm for decades and got nothing

  3. 14 Aug

    04 | Asked to be an executor? What you're really signing up for

    If a relative asks you to be the executor of their will, should you accept? What can go wrong and what do you need to know before you agree to take on the role? When disputes arise, executors are the ones left to clean up the mess, often navigating difficult family dynamics. And saying yes to being an executor can make you personally liable for someone else's debts. Sydney lawyer Donal Griffin explains what the job involves, from settling the deceased's tax and debts to the risk of being held personally liable if you distribute too soon and a claim lands months later. He also covers the conflicts that arise when the executor is also a beneficiary, and the odd habit of people naming politicians and public figures they've never met to run their affairs. The Law Report's special series Over My Dead Body explores the challenges faced by executors when finalising and distributing an estate. This conversation does not represent or replace legal advice.

    04 | Asked to be an executor? What you're really signing up for

  4. 14 Aug

    Can a stranger inherit everything you own?

    An elderly man goes into respite care and meets a nurse he's never known before.  Within days she's bought him a will kit and had a document drawn up that leaves everything to her.  He dies weeks later. Was that his clear settled wish, or something else entirely? Proving the difference is where it gets hard. And messy. When it comes to wills, how big an issue are fraud and undue influence? And what sorts of questions arise over how a will is made? Melbourne lawyer and elder financial abuse specialist James Dimond takes us inside these disputes, from a will signed by pressured witnesses to a father who cut out his son after his daughter convinced him her brother was a dangerous criminal, and the legal idea courts call "poisoning of the mind". The Law Report's special series Over My Dead Body explores what happens when wills go wrong. A reminder, this conversation does not represent or replace legal advice.

    Can a stranger inherit everything you own?

  5. 11 Aug

    Alan Jones on trial

    The criminal trial of former radio broadcaster Alan Jones has begun in the Local Court in Sydney.

  6. 4 Aug

    How should the law respond to cults and groups that coerce and control?

    The Victorian parliament has published a groundbreaking inquiry into the recruitment methods and impacts of cults and organised fringe groups. Among the inquiry's recommendations are world-first laws to criminalise coercive control behaviours by groups.

  7. 28 Jul

    The legacy of William Ah Ket, Australia's first lawyer of Chinese descent

    It's 150 years since the birth of William Ah Ket, Australia's first lawyer of Chinese descent. He was involved in two significant legal victories that kicked back against laws that discriminated against Asian Australians in the early 20th century. The Law Report explores the life and career of this remarkable Australian, his achievements and how his legacy resonates today.

  8. 21 Jul

    Fifty years of 'no-fault' divorce in Australia

    This year marks 50 years of the Family Law Act – legislation that revolutionised the way Australians divorce. Two former family law judges sit down with Damien Carrick to revisit a time before no-fault divorce, when unhappy spouses often employed private detectives to prove adultery.

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About

From courtroom dramas to miscarriages of justice, to how the law affects you — and so much more. The Law Report is your accessible guide to the big legal stories unfolding in Australia and across the world.

Information

  • Creator
    ABC Australia
  • Years Active
    2005 - 2026
  • Episodes
    337
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2026, Australian Broadcasting Corporation. All right reserved.
  • Show Website
    Law Report

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