18 Dec 2023
On the balance of probabilities the Court was satisfied the 20 June 2015 document expressed the deceased's testamentary intentions; accordingly an order under s 14 Wills Act 2007 declaring that document to be the deceased's valid will was made.
3 Nov 2023
Applying s14 Wills Act 2007, the Court may validate a document that lacks formal execution if satisfied it expresses the deceased's testamentary intentions; the assistant's confirmation of form and consistency with instructions, the circumstances of execution, and the consent of beneficiaries satisfied the Court, therefore the unsigned document was declared the deceased's valid will.
16 Oct 2023
The Court validated the handwritten, dated and signed document as the deceased's will under s14 of the Wills Act 2007 because the document clearly expressed the deceased's testamentary intention, benefited the only person who would otherwise inherit, and there was no opposition or competing claim making the witnessing defect immaterial to the rights of potential beneficiaries.
18 Sept 2023
The Court was satisfied the draft document was prepared at the deceased's instruction and accurately reflected his testamentary intentions to dispose of his property; accordingly, under s14 the Court declared the document to be the deceased's valid will and exercised its residual discretion to validate it.
8 Sept 2023
The Court validated the handwritten 30 July 2008 document as the deceased's last will under s 14 of the Wills Act 2007 because it was in the deceased's handwriting, signed by her, expressed clear testamentary intention, was consistent with prior testamentary documents and there was no evidence of a subsequent change in intention.
6 Sept 2023
The Court was satisfied on the balance of probabilities that the handwritten amendments dated 31 July 2021 were in the deceased's handwriting, signed and dated, were consistent with contemporaneous statements to family and friends expressing an intention to change the will, and that the delay before death was reasonably explicable; accordingly the document expresses the deceased's testamentary intentions and the Court declares it to be the valid last will under s14 Wills Act 2007.
8 Aug 2023
Contemporaneous solicitor instructions and corroborating affidavits established the testator's clear intention to exclude Johnathon; accordingly the court, exercising its power under s31, corrected clause 4(e) to name the three intended children and, under s32, interpreted "any child" in the provisos as referring only to those named children.
1 Aug 2023
On the balance of probabilities the Court was satisfied the unsigned document expressed the deceased's testamentary intentions based on the solicitor's contemporaneous evidence and the informed consent of affected family members, and therefore the document was declared a valid will under s14 Wills Act 2007.
5 Jul 2023
The unsigned draft will, viewed with the solicitors' contemporaneous notes and affidavits, the deceased's email confirming key dispositions, and the solicitors' oral reading with the deceased's confirmations, plainly expressed the deceased's testamentary intentions; failure to sign resulted from rapid decline in health rather than change of mind or undue influence, so the Court declares the document valid under s 14 Wills Act 2007.
18 Apr 2023
The August 2021 Draft Will and the September 2022 Email together expressed the deceased's settled testamentary intentions and, absent evidence of any change of mind before death, the Court declared those documents the valid will under s14 Wills Act 2007 and ordered costs to be paid from the estate.