Hong Kong Case Law: Decisions & Judgments

Topic

Rectification of wills

Legal area

Court

10 Sept 2024

WU WAI SUN v. WU SIU LING LINDA, in her personal capacity and as the sole executrix of the estate of WOO CHUN SZE, deceased AND OTHERS

Citation

[2024] HKCFI 2382
Court

Court of First Instance
Case number

HCMP196/2018

Court held there was insufficient evidence that the Shatin Property was solely the deceased's beneficial property; the 02.09.09 statement and alleged oral family agreement were ineffective to displace legal title or statutory spousal entitlements; Clauses (3)(ii) and (4) of the 2014 Will did not require plaintiff to be sole arranger nor did they operate to deprive parties who bring administration proceedings; plaintiff was not in breach of those clauses; however 1st defendant failed to keep estate funds in separate estate accounts, intermingled funds, provided piecemeal disclosure and demonst…
22 Aug 2022

LEUNG SIU YIN v. TUNG YUK YING, the executrix of the estate of CHEUNG MAN YUK, the Deceased

Citation

[2022] HKCFI 2624
Court

Court of First Instance
Case number

HCMP1891/2021

The court declared that the Deceased intended 'change of marital status' in Clause 3 not to include becoming widowed and that the plaintiff's entitlement to the Property continues so long as she has not divorced Mr Cheung; rectification was unnecessary because the declared construction gives effect to the testatrix's evident intention derived from the Will read as a whole and supported by admissible extrinsic evidence; costs awarded to the plaintiff in the sum of $110,000 to be paid from the Deceased's estate.
14 Mar 2022

RE YAU, SUNG KEUNG late of Unit A, Ground Floor, 34A Tseng Lam Shue Village, Sai Kung, New Territories, Married Man, deceased (“the Deceased”)

Citation

[2022] HKCFI 749
Court

Court of First Instance
Case number

HCAG13744/2019

The court found the Deceased intended specific physical parts (Block A to the Mother and Block B to the Daughter). The Rectification Order that converted those intended physical blocks into equal half-shares effectively rewrote the will rather than correcting clerical errors and therefore could not stand; the Rectification Order was set aside though procedural irregularity in failing to exhibit beneficiary comments was waived.
28 May 2010

LEUNGPO CHU v. HO HUNG YING DONNA AND OTHERS

Citation

LEUNGPO CHU v. HO HUNG YING DONNA AND OTHERS
Court

Court of First Instance
Case number

HCMP961/2010

The evidence overwhelmingly established the Deceased intended to benefit the Plaintiff and made a clerical error in the beneficiary's name; therefore s23A authorized rectification substituting "Leung Po Chiu" with "Leung Po Chu"; cross-examination was unnecessary and refused as futile; costs were ordered to be paid out of the estate with specified gross reductions because the administratrices did not act so unreasonably as to forfeit estate indemnity but procedural conduct warranted cost adjustments.

Hong Kong Case Law

WU WAI SUN v. WU SIU LING LINDA, in her personal capacity and as the sole executrix of the estate of WOO CHUN SZE, deceased AND OTHERS

LEUNG SIU YIN v. TUNG YUK YING, the executrix of the estate of CHEUNG MAN YUK, the Deceased

RE YAU, SUNG KEUNG late of Unit A, Ground Floor, 34A Tseng Lam Shue Village, Sai Kung, New Territories, Married Man, deceased (“the Deceased”)

LEUNGPO CHU v. HO HUNG YING DONNA AND OTHERS