28 Mar 2022
SMITH v ENDEAN [2022] NZHC 583
- Citation
- [2022] NZHC 583
- Court
- High Court
Leave to file the Family Protection Act claim out of time was granted because the delay was relatively short (18 weeks), the applicant's mistaken but understandable reliance on her position as the sole discretionary beneficiary provided an excusable explanation, the claim that the deceased breached a moral duty to his long‑term spouse had sufficient merit to justify permitting the claim, and there was no material prejudice to beneficiaries who had ordered their lives on the will sufficient to defeat leave.