Hypotheticals by Manny Wood. Published in the Coffs Coast Advocate on 21 January 2017.
Cecil, a 56-year-old farmer, tells his wife Bessie that he is taking his tractor to do some work about 2 km from the homestead and that he will be back by sunset.
Unfortunately, Cecil is involved in an accident whereby the tractor rolls over and his leg is pinned beneath the left rear wheel.
Bessie goes looking for Cecil and finds him under the tractor. She runs to the nearest farmhouse and they drive to town to find help.
In the dark and in the rain, help arrives and the tractor is jacked-up, to release Cecil. They take him to hospital after being trapped for 10 hours. Cecil suffers a substantial loss of blood and a severely fractured leg.
Cecil passes away the next day.
When the tractor is examined, it is discovered that Cecil had scratched a very brief and simple “will” into the paint of the left mudguard with his pocketknife.
The “informal” will leaves the whole of his estate to Bessie, who would otherwise share his estate with Cecil’s children to a previous relationship on the basis of an “intestacy”. This means that the homestead would need to be sold and Bessie forced to relocate.
Bessie applies to the court to have the tractor’s mud guard declared to be valid will.
The court finds that although the “will” was not properly executed and witnessed, Cecil had intended it to form his will.
The court ultimately approves the will and Bessie receives the whole of Cecil’s estate.
The substantial costs and stress involved could have been avoided if Cecil had made a will with his solicitor.
If you would like Manny to address a particular legal issue, send your request to manny.wood@ticliblaxland.com.au or call him on (02) 6648 7487.
