Article by Manny Wood published in the Coffs Coast News Of The Area on 29 March 2024.
Mary makes a will, leaving the whole of her estate to her five grandchildren. She passes-away with an estate worth $1 million.
Mary’s two adult daughters contest the will, seeking provision from her estate.
The Supreme Court hears evidence that Mary’s previous will, made some 30 years ago, left the whole of her estate to charity. She had no grandchildren at the time.
Mary also left a statement, accompanying her will, stating that her daughters received a substantial inheritance from their aunt, which was later revealed to be in the order of $500,000. Mary also stated that she had only spoken to one of her daughters a few times in the last 20 years. She said that her other daughter had a child that she was not told about and due to the lack of contact with her daughters and the inheritance that they had already received, she had no obligation to provide for them in her will.
The grandchildren were under 18 years of age at the time of the hearing and were represented by a ‘tutor’.
The Court stated that the scheme of the will could be described as ‘generation skipping’ and said that a parent’s primary obligation is to their children and not their grandchildren.
Mary’s daughters give evidence that they suffered emotional rejection from their mother whom they described as ‘erratic’. They also said that the alleged estrangement was false.
The Court found that Mary’s will was made to unfairly punish her daughters for not living nearby and after an assessment of their individual financial circumstances and future needs, ordered that they each receive one-third of Mary’s estate.
The Court also ordered that the daughter’s legal costs were to be paid from the estate.
It is not common for two plaintiffs in this type of claim to be awarded the same amount and the award equated to three times the amount offered to them in pre-trial negotiations.
Email Manny Wood, Principal Solicitor and Accredited Specialist in Wills and Estates at TB Law at manny@tblaw.net.au or call him on (02) 66 487 487. This column is only accurate at today’s date and is not legal advice.
