MaryAnn is a highly regarded solicitor and academic, recognised for her deep expertise in estate planning, succession, and elder law. Holding a BA/BSc, LLB (Hons), Certificate of Practice Legal Training, Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice Management, and a Master of Laws (LLM) specialising in estate planning, MaryAnn combines exceptional academic credentials with extensive practical experience.
Her legal foundation was shaped during her time as Tipstaff to the Honourable Justice Geoff Lindsay of the Supreme Court of New South Wales, where she worked closely on probate, protective list, and equity matters. MaryAnn is Principal Director of her own estate planning firm, M de Mestre Lawyers. She has also acted as a Court Expert in a professional negligence claim, further demonstrating her subject-matter authority in estate and succession law.
MaryAnn is also employed as Lecturer in Succession Law at Macquarie University and previously acted as Convenor. MaryAnn has also previously acted as an Adjunct Fellow at Western Sydney University. She regularly publishes in peer-reviewed journals both state wide and internationally and legal magazines such as the Law Society Journal on succession law and elder law and is a contributing author to the NSW Civil Procedure Handbook. She also serves as a referee for the Adelaide Law Review.
A sought-after speaker, MaryAnn presented on Digital Wills at the 2024 Blue Mountains Succession Law Conference and has delivered presentations internationally, including at the International Legal Ethics Conference in New York. She has served as Guest Editor for the Elder Law Review and was a key contributor to the 2015 NSW Parliamentary Inquiry into Elder Abuse.
MaryAnn is passionate about legal education and community engagement. She regularly appears on podcasts focused on succession and elder law, helping to educate both her colleagues in the profession and the broader community.
With a unique blend of practical legal experience, academic leadership, and a commitment to legal education, MaryAnn is widely recognised as a trusted expert and thought leader in succession planning, elder law and equity.
