Bob Hawke will: Video of Blanche dAlpuget at memorial spurs estate feud
The bitter family feud that has erupted over former prime minister Bob Hawke’s multimillion-dollar estate dominated headlines yesterday.
But a huge hint of the trouble to come was revealed weeks earlier during one key moment of the Labor legend’s recent state memorial.
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The country’s longest-serving ALP prime minister died on May 16 at the age of 89, and he was honoured in a moving service held at the Sydney Opera House on June 14.
During the service, his widow Blanche d’Alpuget delivered a touching speech, declaring “this memorial service marks the transition from the grief of loss to the celebration of a life triumphantly well lived”.
“With today’s transformative service, we smile again, we glow with pride for the presence among us for almost 90 years of a great human being,” Ms d’Alpuget said.
She also thanked event organisers, “Ms Sue Pieters-Hawke, Bob’s daughter, his eldest child” — before immediately moving on to “Mr Bill Kelty, wonderful trade unionist” and other special guests.
It was a perceived snub to her late husband’s other adult children, Stephen Hawke and Rosslyn Dillon.
Soon after, Ms Pieters-Hawke delivered her own speech, saying it gave her some comfort to know her father “died peacefully with Blanche holding him”.
But cameras trained on Ms d’Alpuget revealed her frosty demeanour.
When Ms Pieters-Hawke returned to her seat she could be seen shaking hands with other guests. She then touched her stepmother’s knee after receiving an awkward thumbs up from her.
LEGAL BATTLE
Yesterday, The New Daily revealed Mr Hawke’s youngest daughter Rosslyn Dillon was “preparing to take legal action against Blanche d’Alpuget over the former prime minister’s multimillion-dollar estate”.
According to reporter Samantha Maiden, the 58-year-old informed her stepmother in a phone call of her plans to contest the will on the grounds that it provides inadequate family provisions.
The decision was made after Ms Dillon realised she and her two siblings would receive a payout of just $750,000, despite Mr Hawke’s multimillion-dollar fortune.
The rest will go to Ms d’Alpuget, although Ms Dillon now planned to contest her father’s will after hiring Tiyce & Lawyers to act on her behalf.
If the matter is not resolved, it could end up before the NSW Supreme Court.
Mr Hawke enjoyed business success after leaving politics, and earlier this year his Northbridge home sold for around $15 million.
FAMILY FEUD
The latest drama comes after years of estrangements within the Hawke clan.
When Mr Hawke left his first wife Hazel Masterson for Ms d’Alpuget in 1994, it caused a bitter rift with his children, although they eventually reconciled.
In 2011, Ms Pieters-Hawke and her stepmother allegedly clashed at an airport.
Ms Pieters-Hawke claimed she called police “to ensure there was an accurate record of the altercation”, and went on to tell the ABC’s 7.30 alleging Ms d’Alpuget had slapped her “three or four times”, leaving her “shaken”.
When Mr Hawke was asked about the incident he said: “I’m saying that I’m not giving this any further oxygen. It’s my understanding the report is inaccurate and I have no further comment.”
It was reported the incident was sparked over an upcoming biography about Hazel written by Ms Pieters-Hawke.
However, after Ms Masterson died the relationship between Mr Hawke’s children and his second wife seemed to thaw, and during an Australian Story feature Ms Dillon said she and her stepmother had “become extremely close”.
WHAT NEXT?
According to wills and estates special counsel Joanne Carusi from Barry. Nilsson. Lawyers, Ms Dillon, as daughter of the deceased, is an eligible applicant to contest the will under NSW legislation for “further and better provision”
But Ms Dillon would need to prove to the court that “adequate and proper provision” has not been made for her in her father’s will.
“The courts will look at variety of factors in determining her case such as the size and nature of the deceased’s estate, her own financial circumstances and whether she had been provided for in the past by the deceased, the relationship between her and the deceased as well as that of the deceased and other beneficiaries,” Ms Carusi said.
She said in assessing the claim, the court could take into account factors such as poor health, disability, having a dependent child or being out of work, but that the onus lies with her to satisfy the court of the justification of her claim.
“Saying it is grossly unfair and she should have been given more money in itself will not be relevant to the court,” Ms Carusi said.
She said the best way to reduce the likelihood of a claim being made against your estate was to seek proper advice from an estate planning lawyer which may include the preparation of supporting documents in addition to the will.
That could include an affidavit or a statutorwill a certain way, particularly where there is a blended family situation or a beneficiary that has been excluded from your will.
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