Watton v MacTaggart [2020] NSWSC 1233

Watton v MacTaggart [2020] NSWSC 1233

The court found that the deceased did not make proper provision for the plaintiff, an adult daughter, out of his estate, given her age, financial circumstances, poor health, lack of support, and need for security into retirement. Lifetime provision (notably the Glossodia Property) was significant but not...

Source-derived case information.

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
11 September 2020
Procedural Posture
Family Provision Application / Final Judgment After Contested Hearing
Outcome
Application allowed in part; order for further provision for the plaintiff in the sum of $300,000 in lieu of her distribution under the will.
Legal Topics
['family Provision' "testator's Family Maintenance" 'adult Child Claims' 'estrangement' 'lifetime Provision' 'assessment of Provision']
['succession Law' 'equity'] ['family Provision' "testator's Family Maintenance" 'adult Child Claims' 'estrangement' 'lifetime Provision' 'assessment of Provision']

Source-derived case record

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Procedural Posture

Family Provision Application / Final Judgment After Contested Hearing

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ['Whether the will of the deceased made adequate provision for the proper maintenance and advancement of the plaintiff (adult child) under the Succession Act 2006 (NSW)' "Whether further provision should be made for the plaintiff from the deceased's estate" 'Extent and form of any additional provision, having regard to competing claims and estate size']

Ratio Decidendi

The court found that the deceased did not make proper provision for the plaintiff, an adult daughter, out of his estate, given her age, financial circumstances, poor health, lack of support, and need for security into retirement. Lifetime provision (notably the Glossodia Property) was significant but not determinative, given depletion of its benefit and lack of any binding arrangement that this replaced inheritance. The estrangement diminished but did not extinguish the moral claim, the cause being attributed to the plaintiff's genuine (though unresolved) belief in historical abuse. Considering the position of other beneficiaries and the estate's size, the court ordered a pecuniary legacy...

Court Disposition

Application allowed in part; order for further provision for the plaintiff in the sum of $300,000 in lieu of her distribution under the will.

Orders

  • ['Extension of time for filing of summons to 11 March 2019.' 'Order under s 59 of the Succession Act 2006 (NSW): provision of $300,000 in favour of the plaintiff from the estate in lieu of will provision.' 'The $300,000 to be borne out of the half share of the estate left to the group of nineteen named beneficiaries...