26 May 2022
The court was satisfied on the evidence (solicitor's affidavit, executor affidavit and signed family deed) that clause 2(e) did not give effect to the will-maker's intentions; s31 Wills Act 2007 authorises correction to reflect those intentions; accordingly the court ordered clause 2(e) amended as proposed and dispensed with service to beneficiaries and the renounced executor.
28 Jan 2022
The will was interpreted in context to give effect to the testator's clear intention of equal and fair distribution; the terms 'loans' and 'amount outstanding' operate as an accounting mechanism (proxy for inter vivos gifts) that requires advances to Stephen and associated entities to be brought to account when calculating distributions notwithstanding his bankruptcy discharge; correction under s31 was unnecessary where interpretation achieved the testator's intent; costs awarded to Trustees without Calderbank uplift because refusal was reasonable at the time.
12 Oct 2021
The court confined the originating application to the narrow legal question whether debts provable in bankruptcy must be taken into account for calculating a beneficiary's share and held the expert affidavit of Mr Parsons inadmissible as not relevant to that limited issue; several extensive background and argumentative paragraphs of the respondent's affidavit were struck because they were irrelevant or improperly set out documentary/extraneous material, while remaining passages directly tied to the construction issue were preserved; substantive determination on effect of bankruptcy on account…
20 Nov 2020
On the affidavits and contemporaneous solicitor notes the court was satisfied clause 4 did not reflect the deceased's instructions or intentions; s31 Wills Act 2007 therefore empowered the court to correct the will. The court ordered substitution of clause 4 to reflect a simple option/right of first refusal as intended and declared the 13 September 2019 will valid as corrected.
11 Mar 2020
The court held s32 was inapt because words were omitted rather than ambiguous; s31 permits correction where a will does not reflect the will-maker's instructions; evidence of the drafter's notes established that the testator did not intend to restrict the scholarship to income only; correcting clause 3(b) to permit use of capital and income was necessary to avoid a perpetuities failure and to give effect to the testator's intentions.
9 Nov 2018
The Court was satisfied on the affidavit evidence that the error was clerical and that the amended page set out in the application reflected the testator's intention, and therefore ordered correction of the will pursuant to s 31 of the Wills Act 2007.
1 Nov 2018
The Court corrected the will because the document and background circumstances clearly demonstrated that the phrase 'my said father' was an error and that the testator intended his son to be the residuary beneficiary; section 31 Wills Act 2007 authorises such correction to give effect to that intention.
1 Jul 2014
The court was satisfied there were no affected persons requiring notice and that the two drafting mistakes were clerical errors which, under s 31(1) of the Wills Act 2007, should be corrected to carry out the deceased's testamentary intentions; accordingly the will was corrected and the application was properly heard without notice under r 7.46.
6 Mar 2013
Where a testator shows a general charitable intention directed to a specific charitable cause but refers to an organisation that is not the appropriate contemporary vehicle, the Court may, having ensured statutory advertising and an Attorney-General report, vary the will under ss32-33 to substitute a suitable charity (here Hutt Hospital Foundation) to carry out the charitable purpose (education and training of community/district nurses). The statutory prerequisites were satisfied and variation was appropriate.
23 Sept 2011
The will contained a clerical omission and failed to give effect to the testator's intentions because clauses 2 and 4-5 are irreconcilable; under s 31 Wills Act 2007 the court may correct the will to reflect the testator's intention, and the application could be heard without notice because the affected beneficiaries consented.