MacDonald v MacDonald [2012] NSWSC 1376

MacDonald v MacDonald [2012] NSWSC 1376

The deceased's typed note under the heading "Instructions for distribution of my goods" was intended to operate as his will because, by stating "Mum, you are the beneficiary of my estate", he intended by that document to make the plaintiff the beneficiary of his estate, and the later precatory words did not affect...

Source-derived case information.

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
07 November 2012
Procedural Posture
Application for Grant of Letters of Administration With an Informal Will Annexed and Approval of Releases in a Settlement Deed / Principal Judgment
Outcome
Application granted; informal testamentary document declared to form the deceased's will; letters of administration with the will annexed ordered; settlement releases approved; costs of both parties ordered to be paid out of the estate.
Legal Topics
['informal Wills' 'suicide Note as Testamentary Document' 'letters of Administration With Will Annexed' 'family Provision Release Approval']
['wills, Probate and Administration'] ['informal Wills' 'suicide Note as Testamentary Document' 'letters of Administration With Will Annexed' 'family Provision Release Approval']

Source-derived case record

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Procedural Posture

Application for Grant of Letters of Administration With an Informal Will Annexed and Approval of Releases in a Settlement Deed / Principal Judgment

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ["Whether the suicide note, or relevant parts of it, formed the deceased's will under s 8 of the Succession Act 2006 (NSW)." 'Whether the deceased intended the paragraphs headed "Instructions for distribution of my goods" to operate as his will.' 'Whether releases in a settlement deed relating to possible family provision claims should be approved under s 95 of the Succession Act 2006 (NSW).']

Ratio Decidendi

The deceased's typed note under the heading "Instructions for distribution of my goods" was intended to operate as his will because, by stating "Mum, you are the beneficiary of my estate", he intended by that document to make the plaintiff the beneficiary of his estate, and the later precatory words did not affect the dispositive nature of that statement.

Court Disposition

Application granted; informal testamentary document declared to form the deceased's will; letters of administration with the will annexed ordered; settlement releases approved; costs of both parties ordered to be paid out of the estate.

Orders

  • ['Declare that the deceased, Bradley John MacDonald, intended the heading "Instructions for distribution of my goods" and the three paragraphs following that heading in annexure B to the plaintiff\'s affidavit of 1 November 2011 to form his will.' 'Order that letters of administration of the estate of the deceased...