HELP - Where do I look.

[boydi]

Hi All,

1930, Mother dies (Pt Macquarie NSW) & leaves 13 year old daughter. Probate shows mother as widow but her husband is alive, they were separared for years. Mothers estate left to daughter residing in San Souci NSW. Father suddenly back on scene.
Does anyone know, could the father just "claim" his daughter or would there have been a recorded process, to obtain the estate & his daughter.
If so where would I look & for what sort of records.

Thanks
Ruth

[trish251]

Hi Ruth

I don't have any legal knowledge, but would assume with the mother dead, the father could certainly claim the daughter, and if whoever was currently her guardian (grandparents ?) didn't object, there would be no court case. Claiming the daughters estate may be somewhat different, although given her age, he may have become her trustee and simply taken whatever was available. There was no family court until 1976, so I would think any legal matters would have been through the Supreme Court in NSW. Try looking for Wills etc via the NSW archives
http://www.records.nsw.gov.au/staterecords/

Someone else may have much better knowledge on the subject.

Trish