19 Oct 2022
Re estate of ANNE LORIS CLARKE [2023] NZHC 2936
- Citation
- [2023] NZHC 2936
- Court
- High Court
The Court held the will was ambiguous and internally inconsistent; external evidence (the husband's mirror will and the applicant's testimony) showed the testator intended the Runciman property to be treated as a specific gift under clause 3 and the remainder of the estate to pass under clause 5. Clause 5's survivorship wording conflicted with clauses 6–8. Under Wills Act 2007 s31 the will was corrected so clause 5 reads as a gift of the residue, and the ambiguous survivorship language was removed, thereby giving effect to the testator's intentions.