Craig was called to the Bar in May 2017. Craig is a member of the Society of Trust & Estate Practitioners (STEP) and a co-author of C Birtles and R Neal, Hutley’s Australian Wills Precedents 8th Edition (LexisNexis Butterworths) 2013 and 9th Edition 2016 and C Birtles, R Neal and C Sims 10th Edition 2021.

Craig was named in the Doyle’s Guide as a leading New South Wales Wills and Estates Litigation Junior Counsel in 2019 and 2020 and a leading Australian Wills and Estate Litigation Junior Counsel in 2020.

Before being called to the Bar Craig was a solicitor at Teece Hodgson & Ward and was an Accredited Specialist in Wills & Estates Law.

Admitted to the Bar (New South Wales) 2017
Admitted as a Solicitor of the Supreme Court of New South Wales 2008

Equity & Trusts
Family Provision Claims
Succession/Wills & Probate

As Counsel Craig has appeared in:

• Ivanna Ann-Marie Ferenc Stojic v Simon Stojic [2017] NSWSC 1235 (12 September 2017)
  Revocation of grant of probate
• I L Pardey & Ors v A W Pardey [2017] NSWSC 1413 (17 October 2017)
  Codicil with no operative effect
• Stojic v Stojic [2018] NSWCA 28 (28 February 2018)
  Appeal of probate proceedings – new trial ordered
• Stojic v Stojic [2018] NSWSC 723 (8 May 2018)
  Interim administration
• Stojic v Stojic [2018] NSWSC 1268 (15 August 2018
  Powers of interim administrators, judicial advice, voluntary administration
• In the matter of Statewide Office Furniture Pty Ltd [2018] NSWSC 1393 (7 September 2018)
  Restitution, enforcement, costs
• Angius v Salier [2018] NSWSC 808 (31 May 2018)
  Application by beneficiary for joinder
• Gianna (Jenny) Angius v Gordon Albert Salier [2018] NSWSC 995 (29 June 2018)
  Application by beneficiary for joinder, application by beneficiary for interim distribution
• Estate Reid; Roberts v Moses and Palmer [2018] NSWSC 1145 (26 July 2018)
  Construction and rectification of will
• Egberts v Evans [2018] NSWSC 1974 (15 November 2018)
  Settlement of proceedings, two beneficiaries do not consent
• Katramados v Hasapis (No 4) [2019] NSWSC 846
  Complex estate – trustee for sale – order for possession
• Graeme Philip White as administrator of the Estate of Josephine Agnes Virgona v Attorney General of NSW [2019] NSWSC 917 (17 July 2019)
  Cy pres scheme
• Kelly v Kelly [2019] NSWSC 994 (8 August 2019)
  Application for approval of release
• Page v Rankine [2020] NSWSC 902
  Notices to produce
• Armitage v Fraser [2020] NSWSC 979
  Family provision
• Campbell v Campbell [2020] NSWSC 1797
  Application to set aside notices to produce
• Weiss v Weiss; Estate of Anita Hildegard Weiss [2020] NSWSC 1064
  Intestacy, last will not propounded by beneficiary
• John Campbell Nominees Pty Ltd [2021] NSWSC 233
  Judicial advice
• Alexakis v Masters [2021] NSWSC 158
  Leave to file cross claim
• Chant v Curcuruto; Chant v Curcuruto [2021] NSWSC 751
  Testamentary capacity, knowledge and approval

Craig has presented over 20 seminars since 2011 including

• “Testamentary dispositions”, seminar 3 in “Estate administration: Probate, Protective and Family Provision Jurisdiction” series co-presented with Michael Willmott SC for the NSW Bar Association and Law Society of NSW on 16 June 2015. This paper was published in a special edition of the Australian Bar Review: Estate Administration, Probate, Family Provision and Protective Cases (December 2016) 43 ABR 1
• “Statutory Will applications and the protective jurisdiction”, a paper by Craig Birtles and Hugh Morrison presented for the Blue Mountains Law Society at the Inaugural Succession Law Conference on 17 September 2016.
• “Informal Testamentary Documents”, paper presented by Craig Birtles for UNSW CPD on 30 March 2017.
• “Family Provision: the turning of the Worm”, paper presented by Craig Birtles for College of Law, Specialist Legal Conference: Wills & Estates, on 13 May 2017.
• “Testamentary capacity and knowledge and approval”, paper presented by Craig Birtles for Legalwise on 22 November 2017.
• “Family Provision: the worm turns again”, paper presented by Craig Birtles for St George-Sutherland Regional Law Society on 21 March 2018.
• “Statutory Wills”, paper presented by Craig Birtles for Law Society of NSW Accredited Specialists Conference on 11 August 2018.
• “Statutory Wills”, paper presented by Craig Birtles for Television Education Network Wills and Estates Masterclass on 18 September 2019.
• “Family Provision Review 2020: The worm and the robin”, paper presented by Craig Birtles for the 18th Annual Succession Law Symposium on 10 March 2021.
• “Statutory Wills”, paper presented by Craig Birtles for Succession Law Conference on 13 March 2021.

+61 2 8915 2036 +61 2 9223 4204
cbirtles@wentworthchambers.com.au