Karina Penfold is a Principal Lawyer and Team Leader of Coleman Greig's Wills and Estate Planning team.
Whilst she is experienced in working with a variety of clients, Karina particularly enjoys assisting blended families, vulnerable beneficiaries, high-net-worth individuals, business owners and elderly clients.
Karina actively seeks the most practical and cost-effective resolutions for her clients, especially within the context of Estate Litigation. Recognising that Estate Litigation matters are unique and often fuelled with emotion, she takes the time to walk clients through the legal processes, breaking everything down into simple steps and ensuring a clear understanding of the costs associated with each.
In practice, Karina has found that clients rarely understand which assets will and won't form part of their estate on death, so as part of the estate planning process she takes every opportunity to educate clients by explaining why certain information is required, and by highlighting key factors which may affect their Estate moving forward.
In line with her wide-reaching experience with Wills, Estate Planning and Estate Litigation, Karina has particularly strong practical knowledge in relation to:
- Advising Executors, beneficiaries and persons left out of Wills with Family Provision Claims;
- Advising Executors in the case of Executorial disputes (e.g. where there is a deadlock between joint Executors in an Estate before or after Grant of Probate has been issued);
- Assisting clients with complex uncontested Probate applications;
- Assisting clients with contested Probate applications, especially where the Will's validity is questioned;
- Assisting Executor clients with the passing of accounts, as well as claims for Executor's Commission;
- Acting for beneficiaries to ensure the Executor(s) and Trustee(s) of an Estate act in accordance with their obligations; and,
- Assisting clients with preparing applications, or responses to applications to the Guardianship division of the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal, for financial management and/or guardianship orders.
Karina is a Full Member of STEP (Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners), a global professional association for practitioners who specialise in family inheritance and succession planning. STEP members help families plan for their futures, from drafting a Will to advising on issues concerning international families, protection of the vulnerable, family businesses, philanthropic giving and contested estate litigation. Full STEP members, like Karina, are internationally recognised as experts in their field, with proven qualifications and experience.
As a fluent Russian speaker, Karina has the capacity to assist clients from the Russian community with their Wills and Estate Administration matters.
Outside of work, Karina enjoys collecting music records, exploring various national and international wine regions and spending time with her farm animals and dogs.