成人大片

Course Staff

Name: David Brown
Location: Ligertwood building 2 20
Telephone: 8313 4442
Email: d.brown@adelaide.edu.au


Name: Sylvia Villios
Location: Ligertwood Building 4.15
Telephone:8313 7223
Email: Sylvia.Villios@adelaide.edu.au

At the successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

1. Apply the fundamental concepts of the law of South Australia for the administration and devolution of inheritable property of a deceased person.

2. Identify, research, analyse and evaluate complex legal issues relating to the administration and devolution of inheritable property of a deceased person and consider how these issues may be resolved in an ethical manner.

3. Apply knowledge of important contemporary issues in succession law including wills, distribution upon intestacy, family provision, probate and administration, special considerations for assets in foreign jurisdictions and other selected issues.

4. Apply critical thinking and problem solving skills to resolve succession law issues and communitate them effectively, both orally and in writing.

5. Apply knowledge of the relationship between succession law and other areas of law including taxation, estate and business succession planning, family law, property law, contract law, superannuation law and law of trusts.

6. Conduct independent research on legal and policy issues in succession law.

Text Book
Ken Mackie, Principles of Australian Succession Law, 3rd Edition, LexisNexis, Butterworths, 2017.

Other recommended resources include:
Construction of Wills in Australia 2007, Hutley's Australian Wills Precedents 9ed 2016 and Powers of Attorney 2ed 2014 which are loose-leaf and online services published by LexisNexis Butterworths and available via the Law Library
website:

Dal Pont and Mackie, Law of Succession, 3rd edition, LexisNexis Butterworths, 2017.

JK de Groot & BW Nickel, Family Provision in Australia, 5th edition, LexisNexis Butterworths, 2017.

This course consists of  one 2-hr lecture a week, and a one-hour seminar each week (the seminar to be offered in face to face or online modes). The lecture recordings, PowerPoint slides used in lectures and other material for the course, such as seminar questions, will be made available on MyUni throughout the course.

The lectures will set out the approach to understanding Succession Law and applying the different topics of the course to problems. Although attendance at lectures is not compulsory, it is highly recommended that students attend so that students get that understanding and familiarity with that approach to the topics. Seminars are a very important component of the way the course is taught. The seminar questions will be made available throughout the semester and will be fairly simple at first, and will then progressively increase in complexity throughout the course. The seminars will usually comprise practical problem type questions in which the succession law topics from lectures is applied to arrive at a solution supported by appropriate reasoning. This process of applying the topics of succession law covered in the course to arrive at a reasoned solution is critical to doing well in the assignment, the exam and the course.

The University expects full-time students (i.e. those taking 12 units per semester) to devote a total of 48 hours per week to their
studies. This means that you are expected to commit approximately 9 hours for a three-unit course of private study outside of your regular classes.

Students in this course are expected to attend all lectures throughout the semester plus the seminar each week.

Lectures will cover:

1. Introduction
2. The General Nature of a Will 
3. Making a Will - the Mental Elements
4. Statutory Wills - Wills for Persons Who Lack Testamentary Capacity
5. Making a Will - the Formal Requirements
6. Revocation and Alteration of Wills
7. Republication and Revival
8. Construction of Wills
9. Gifts by Will
10. Distribution on Intestacy
11. Family Provision
12. Personal Representatives
13. Grants of Representation
14. The Administrative Process - Functions, Duties, Powers, Rights and Liabilities of Personal Representatives
15. Survivorship

The assessment components are:

Assessment Task	Task Type	Length	Redeemable	Due	Weighting	Course Learning Outcome
Quiz	Individual	15 questions	No	Friday Week 4	15%	1,3,5
Compulsory Research Assignment	Group	2,000 words	No	Friday Week 6	25%	1-6
Final Exam	Individual	2 hours	No	Exam Period	60%	1-6

General
To gain a pass in the course, a mark of at least 50% overall is required. There is no requirement that a particular part of the assessment must be passed.

Assignment

1. The assignment will be done in a group of up to five (5) team members. More instructions will be provided at the beginning of the semester.
2. The essay must be no more than 2,000 words in content excluding footnotes. A penalty, of a 5% reduction for every 100 words or part thereof, will  be imposed if this word limit is exceeded.
3. Assessment marks prior to the final exam will be displayed in the Grade Centre on My Uni. Students are encouraged to check their marks and notify the course coordinators of any discrepancies.

Exam
A sample exam will be made available on MyUni.

Legible hand-writing and the quality of English expression are considered to be integral parts of the assessment process. Marks may be deducted in the final examination because of poor hand-writing.

Quiz

This will be a multiple choice quiz of 15 questions, covering knowedge of fundamental terms, concepts and their application in relation to the first four weeks of the course.

Assignment
Each student must submit an essay assignment as part of the assessment for this course. The assignment is done in a group of up to five (5) team members. 

The essay must be no more than 2,000 words in content excluding footnotes. A penalty, of a reduction in mark, may be imposed if this word limit is exceeded.

MyUni Group Sign-Up & Assignment Submission Instructions will be made available with detailed instructions as to how to sign-up to a group and for assignment submission.

Late submission of assignments is dealt with in the Course Outline.

A request for a re-mark of an assignment must be made within 10 business days of assignments being made available for collection. Requests made outside this time limit will not be considered. Assignment

Assessment criteria
1.    The extent to which the essay identifies relevant succession law issues and sets out sound reasoning in support of the discussion.
2.    The extent to which the essay demonstrates research into relevant topics of succession law.
3.    Whether the essay is easy to read and understand. Ease of reading can be achieved by the use of headings andsub-headings.


Exam
The exam is “open book” but you must not bring into the exam room any book belonging to the 成人大片 Libraries. “Permitted Materials” in the exam room are the prescribed textbook or any other succession law textbook, the legislation, course materials and handouts, your own lecture and other notes written and prepared by you, and not prepared by or taken from someone else. You may also bring into the exam room an English or English/foreign language dictionary (paper only), and
calculator incapable of sending text.

It is each student's responsibility to read the examination timetable. Misreading the timetable is not accepted as grounds for granting a replacement/supplementary exam. University staff are not permitted to provide examination times to students over the telephone or in response to personal enquiries. Examinations will be held only at the time and locations stated in the University’s Examination Timetable. Students should not make any arrangements to be absent until after the replacement/supplementary exam period.

Assignment Submission

1. MyUni Group Sign-Up & Assignment Submission Instructions will be made available with detailed instructions as to how to sign-up to a group and for assignment submission.
2. Students must retain a copy of the assignment submitted.
3. Students must attach an ‘Assignment Cover Sheet’, which is signed and dated before submission.
4. The course coordinator may withhold students’ results until such time as the student has signed the Assignment Cover Sheet.
5. Course coordinators can refuse to accept assignments, which do not have a signed acknowledgement of the University’s policy on plagiarism. For this course, students are required to hand in assignments via ‘Turn it in’ which is a computer programme that detects plagiarised work. Further information can be found at:
6. All assessments will be submitted and monitored through text or code comparative software (e.g. Turnitin) where possible.
   
    

Late Assignment Submission

1. Students are expected to submit their work by the due date to maintain a fair and equitable system. Extensions will generally only be given for medical or other serious reasons. Students must apply for an extension by completing the online Application for Extension form before the due date. Each request will be assessed on its merits.
2. Extensions are granted at the discretion of the course coordinators or Assessment Officer in compliance with the Modified Arrangements for Coursework Assessment Policy.
3. Extensions beyond the due date are usually only granted in the case of significant medical, compassionate or extenuating circumstances which affect a student’s capacity to demonstrate their demonstrate their true level of competence in an assessment task.
4. A late assignment (without prior arrangement) will be penalised by a  5% mark reduction if it is submitted after the due date, and then 5% for every 24hour period of lateness thereafter.

Return of Assignments
Lecturers aim to mark and return assignments to students within two (2) weeks of the due date with written feedback.

Courses for which a result of conceded pass has been obtained may not be presented towards the degree requirements for the Bachelor of Laws or the Honours Degree of Bachelor of Laws programs, or any postgraduate law program, nor to satisfy prerequisite requirements within any law course.

Finality of Assessment Grades

Students are advised that Course Coordinators will not enter into negotiations of any kind with any student regarding changes to their grades. It is irrelevant, in any given circumstance, that only a minimal number of additional marks are required to inflate a student’s grade for any individual assessment item or course as a whole. Pursuant to the University’s Assessment for Coursework Programs Policyand the Adelaide Law School Assessment Policies and Procedures, grades may only be varied through the appropriate channels for academic review (such as an official re-mark).

Moderation

In accordance with the University’s Assessment for Coursework Programs Policy, course coordinators ‘ensure that appropriate marking guidelines and cross-marking moderation processes across markers are in place’ in each course. Procedures adopted by Adelaide Law School to ensure consistency of marking in courses with multiple markers include:

• assurance of the qualifications of markers, and their knowledge of the content covered in each course;
• detailed marking guidelines and assessment rubrics to assist in the marking of items of assessment;
• sharing of example marked assessments at various grade bands across markers;
• reviewing of selected marked assessments from each marker by the course coordinator;
• comparison of the marks and their distribution across markers;
• automatic double-marking of all interim assessment receiving a fail grade, and of final assessments where a student’s overall result is a fail grade;
• the availability of re-marking of assessments in accordance with Adelaide Law School’s Assessment Policies and Procedures.

Approval of Results by Board of Examiners

Students are reminded that all assessment results are subject to approval (and possible moderation/change) by the Law School’s Board of Examiners. Assessment results at the University are not scaled. Under the Assessment for Coursework Programs Policy, students are assessed ‘by reference to their performance against pre-determined criteria and standards … and not by ranking against the performance of the student cohort in the course’. However, under that same policy, the Board of Examiners (as the relevant Assessment Review Committee for courses at Adelaide Law School) is required to ‘ensure comparability of standards and consistency’ in assessment. On occasions, the Board of Examiners will form the view that some moderation is required to ensure the comparability of standards and consistency across courses and years, and accordingly provide fairness to all law students. All assessment results are therefore subject to approval (and possible change) until confirmed by the Board of Examiners and posted on Access Adelaide at the end of each semester.

Student feedback The course is constantly being updated and revised to reflect the evolution of the law, to respond to student feedback, and to engage with the latest teaching practices. Student feedback is collected each time the course is run, including through SELT reports. Previous SELT reports, and staff feedback on them, are posted on the course MyUni site for students to view and consider

The provides academic learning and language development services and resources for local, international, undergraduate and postgraduate coursework students enrolled at the 成人大片.

The centre offers practical advice and strategies for students to master reading, writing, note-taking, time management, oral presentation skills, referencing techniques and exam preparation for success at university through seminars, workshops and individual consultations.

Lex Salus Program

Lex Salus (law and wellbeing) is an initiative of the Adelaide Law School aimed at destigmatising mental health issues; promoting physical, mental and emotional wellness; building a strong community of staff and students; and celebrating diversity within the school. It also seeks to promote wellness within the legal profession, through the involvement of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of South Australia, the Honourable Chris Kourakis, as the official Patron of the program.

Students can participate in the Lex Salus program by attending barbecue lunches, pancake breakfasts, knitting and crochet circles, seminars, guest speakers, conferences and other activities. Our , and regular all-student emails promote upcoming events, and have tips and information on wellness.

Our Lex Salus YouTube channel also includes videos on topics like managing stress, and interviews with LGBTQ lawyers and their supporters which celebrate diversity and individuality. Students who commit to 10 hours of volunteering with Lex Salus in one year can have their service recognised on their academic transcript and through a thank you morning tea with the Chief Justice and law school staff.

Student Life Counselling Support

The University’s service provides free and confidential service to all enrolled students. We encourage you to contact the Student Life Counselling Support service on 8313 5663 to make an appointment to deal with any issues that may be affecting your study and life.

Academic Integrity

All students must be familiar with the University’s Academic Integrity Policy. Academic Misconduct is a serious matter and is treated as such by the Law School and the University. Academic Misconduct (which goes beyond plagiarism) can be a ground for a refusal by the Supreme Court of South Australia to admit a person to practice as a legal practitioner in South Australia. Academic Integrity is an essential aspect of ethical and honest behaviour, which is central to the practice of the law and an understanding of what it is to be a lawyer.