Liosatos v Liosatos [2025] NSWSC 44

Supreme Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: Liosatos v Liosatos [2025] NSWSC 44 Hearing dates: On the papers (following submissions) Date of orders: 6 February 2025 Decision date: 12 February 2025 Jurisdiction: Equity - Family Provision List Before: Meek J Decision: Orders made finalising family provision claim and notations made disregarding the interests of an eligible non-applicant son and unidentified ex-nuptial children (if there be any). Catchwords: SUCCESSION — Family provision — Notices of Claim — Disregarding power — Identification of the context and purposes of family provision legislation bearing upon s 61 Succession Act SUCCESSION — Family provision — Outline of the evolution of approach to consideration of possible applicants under family provision legislation in determining claims of applicants SUCCESSION — Family provision — Construction of s 61 Succession Act in light of context, purpose and text SUCCESSION — Words and phrases — Family provision — Meaning of "disregard the interests" of any other person (other than a beneficiary) — Meaning of "unnecessary, unreasonable or impracticable" — Examination of "unnecessary, unreasonable or impracticable" terms as applied in family provision caselaw SUCCESSION — Family provision — Service of Notices of Claim — Discussion of purposes underlying notification regime — Outline of requirements of Notices of Claim, including means and time of service SUCCESSION — Family provision — Discussion of types of searches to locate persons and limitations of such searches — Discussion of internet and social media searches — Discussion of property searches — Discussion of electoral roll searches — Meaning and discussion of "skip tracing" SUCCESSION — Family provision — Form of request for s 61 notation — In most cases the request is informally made by email or in proposed short minutes of order or outline of submissions and not formalised by notice of motion SUCCESSION — Family provision — Guidance as to practical application of search and notification requirements SUCCESSION — Family provision — Parties and affected persons — Consent orders — The parties asked the Court to make consent orders in a family provision claim by a child of the deceased in circumstances in which another child had not been served with a Notice of Claim and evinced an intention of not being located by the plaintiff or others associated with dealings with his deceased father's estate — Credible but untested evidence disclosed deceased had ex-nuptial children — Orders sought (and notation made) to disregard the interests of that other child — Further notation made to address position of such, if any, ex-nuptial children Legislation Cited: Adoption Act 2000 (NSW) Civil Procedure Act 2005 (NSW) Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 (Cth) Electoral Act 2017 (NSW) Evidence Act 1995 (NSW) Family Provision Act 1982 (NSW) Family Provision Bill 1982 (NSW) Family Provision Bill 2004 (NSW) Interpretation Act 1987 (NSW) Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998 (NSW) Statute Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1985 (NSW) Statute Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 1985 (NSW) Succession Act 2006 (NSW) Succession Amendment (Family Provision) Bill 2008 (NSW) Testator's Family Maintenance and Guardianship of Infants Act 1916 (NSW) Electoral and Referendum Regulation 2016 (Cth) Supreme Court Rules 1970 (NSW) Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 2005 (NSW) Cases Cited: ADCO Constructions Pty Ltd v Goudappel (2014) 254 CLR 1; [2014] HCA 18 Ainsworth v Redd (1990) 19 NSWLR 78 Alexander v Jansson [2010] NSWCA 176; (2010) 6 ASTLR 432 Andrew v Andrew (No. 3) [2013] NSWSC 286 Atkinson v Crowley [2011] NSWCA 194 Banks v Goodfellow (1870) LR 5 QB 549 Barns v Barns (2003) 214 CLR 169; [2003] HCA 9 Bowers v Matthews [2024] NSWSC 1353 Bradley v Irvine; Irvine v Irvine [2024] NSWSC 727 Cairns v Cairns [2006] NSWSC 367 Cameron v Jeffress [2014] NSWSC 702 Cetojevic v Cetojevic [2006] NSWSC 431 Chalik v Chalik [2024] NSWSC 117 Ciric v Ciric [2015] NSWSC 313 Coates v National Trustees Executors and Agency Co Ltd (1956) 95 CLR 494; [1956] HCA 23 Commissioner of Stamp Duties (Qld) v Livingston [1965] AC 694 Coric v Grotto; Nelson v Grotto; Estate of Late FA Grotto [2007] NSWSC 1080 Dunne v Dunne [2013] NSWSC 1911; (2013) 12 ASTLR 299 Estate Pascale [2016] NSWSC 443 FGH v NOP [2023] WASCA 177 Field v Inglis (Supreme Court (NSW), Young J, 8 February 1994, unrep) Gurss v Findley & Buys [2004] NSWSC 229 Hart v Van Son [2014] NSWSC 585 Hill v Hill (Supreme Court (NSW), Young J, 19 May 1997, unrep) Holmes v Permanent Trustee Co of New South Wales Ltd (1932) 47 CLR 113; [1932] HCA 1 In re Coal Economising Gas Company (Gover's Case) (1875) 1 Ch D 182 In Re GR Newell (Deceased) (1932) 49 WN (NSW) 181 In re Jacob Morris (Deceased) (1943) 43 SR (NSW) 352 In re Lidington [1940] WN (Eng) 279 In Re Simson (Decd.) Simson v National Provincial Bank Ltd [1950] Ch 38 Jodell v Woods [2017] NSWSC 143 Jones (A pseudonym) v Smith (A pseudonym) [2016] VSCA 178; (2016) 15 ASTLR 402 Jurak v Latham [2023] NSWSC 1318 Lieberman v Morris (1944) 69 CLR 69; [1944] HCA 13 Lim v Lim [2023] NSWCA 84 Lloyd v Nelson (1985) 2 NSWLR 291 Luciano v Rosenblum (1985) 2 NSWLR 65 M.A. Bourke (deceased) and T.F.M. Act [1968] NSWR 453 Matthews v Wear [2011] NSWSC 1145 Murphy v Electoral Commissioner (2016) 261 CLR 28; [2016] HCA 36 Northumbrian Ice Cream Co Ltd v Breakaway Vending Pty Ltd [2006] NSWSC 1216 O'Brien v McCormick [2005] NSWSC 619 O'Leary v O'Leary & Eccles [2010] NSWSC 1347 Official Receiver in Bankruptcy v Schultz (1990) 170 CLR 306; [1990] HCA 45 Olsen v Olsen (2019) 101 NSWLR 225; [2019] NSWCA 278 Page v Page [2016] NSWSC 1218 Page v Page [2017] NSWCA 141; (2017) 16 ASTLR 331 Palmer v Dolman [2005] NSWCA 361 Papantoniou v Foundouradakis [2023] NSWSC 1374 Pletersky v Pletersky [2012] NSWSC 277 Plummer v Montgomery [2023] NSWSC 175 Poletti v Jones [2015] NSWCA 107; (2015) 13 ASTLR 113 Pontifical Society for the Propagation of the Faith v Scales (1962) 107 CLR 9; [1962] HCA 19 Porte v Couso (Supreme Court (NSW), McLelland J, 16 March 1992, unrep) Quek v Beggs (1990) 5 BPR 11 Re Eddison; Kildair v Eddison [2022] VSC 251 Re Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs; Ex parte Lam (2003) 214 CLR 1; [2003] HCA 6 Re SJ Hall (Deceased) (1959) SR (NSW) 219 Sammut v Kleemann [2012] NSWSC 1030 Schaefer v Schuhmann [1972] AC 572 Seitz v Morgans [2001] NSWSC 1188 Sgro v Thompson [2017] NSWCA 326 Shelley v Prager [2020] NSWSC 1393 Singer v Berghouse (1994) 181 CLR 201; [1994] HCA 40 Slack v Rogan (2013) 85 NSWLR 253; [2013] NSWSC 522 Somogy v Kune [1999] NSWSC 1168 Stanford v Stanford [2021] NSWSC 1469 Steinmetz v Shannon (2019) 99 NSWLR 687; [2019] NSWCA 114 Stokes v Stokes [2023] NSWSC 1223 Stone v Stone [2016] NSWSC 605 Syndicate Mortgage Solutions Pty Ltd v El-Sayed [2009] NSWSC 207 Tobin v Ezekiel (2012) 83 NSWLR 757; [2012] NSWCA 285 Tomanovic v Global Mortgage Equity Corporation Pty Ltd (No 2) [2011] NSWCA 256; (2011) 288 ALR 385 Underwood v Gaudron [2015] NSWCA 269; (2015) 324 ALR 641 Vasiljev v Public Trustee [1974] 2 NSWLR 497 Victims Compensation Fund Corporation v Brown [2003] HCA 54; (2003) 201 ALR 260 Vigolo v Bostin (2005) 221 CLR 191; [2005] HCA 11 Wass v Director of Public Prosecution (NSW); Wass v Constable Wilcock (2023) 111 NSWLR 210; [2023] NSWCA 71 Westpac Banking Corporation: Application of Xiao [2024] NSWSC 429 Zirkler v McKinnon [2002] NSWSC 285 Texts Cited: Atherton, Rosalind F, "'Family' and 'Property': A history of testamentary freedom in new South Wales with particular reference to widows and children" (PhD Thesis, University of New South Wales, 1993) Atherton, Rosalind F, "The Testator's Family Maintenance and Guardianship of Infants Act 1916 (NSW): Husband's Power v Widow's Right" (1990) 6 Australian Journal of Law and Society 97 Australian Electoral Commission, "Confirm my enrolment" (WebPage) (see endnotes for accessible link) Australian Electoral Commission, "Managing the Commonwealth electoral roll" (WebPage) (see endnotes for accessible link) Australian Electoral Commission, "National and State Offices" (WebPage) (see endnotes for accessible link) Bowyer, Geoff, "Succession Law Changes Too Harsh" (October 2014) 88 Law Institute Journal 4 Boyd, Danah and Nicole Ellison, "Social Network Sites: Definition, History, and Scholarship" (2008) 13 Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication 210 Dal Pont, G E, Law of Succession (3rd ed, 2021, LexisNexis) Englefield, Leonie, Australian Family Provision Law (2011, Thomson Reuters) Explanatory Note to the Family Provision Bill 1982 (NSW) Explanatory Note to the Statue Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 1985 Explanatory Note to the Succession Amendment (Family Provision) Bill 2008 Handler, Leslie and Richard Neal, Mason and Handler Succession Law and Practice NSW (LexisNexis) Hastings, Roland and George Weir, Probate Law and Practice (2nd ed, 1948, The Law Book Co of Australasia Pty Ltd) Herzfeld, Perry and Thomas Prince, Interpretation (3rd ed, 2024, Thomson Reuters) Holmes, Oliver Wendell Jr., The Common Law (1881, Little, Brown & Co) at 1 Macquarie Dictionary, online ed Museums of History New South Wales, "Electoral rolls guide" (WebPage) (see endnotes for accessible link) National Committee for Uniform Succession Laws, Report to the Standing Committee of Attorneys General on Family Provision, Queensland Law Reform Commission, Miscellaneous Paper 28 (December 1997) National Library of Australia, "Electoral rolls research guide" (WebPage) (see endnotes for accessible link) Netcraft, "January 2025 Web Server Survey" (WebPage) (see endnotes for accessible link) New South Wales Electoral Commission, "Electoral roll" (WebPage) (see endnotes for accessible link) New South Wales Government Gazette, No 120, 26 August 1983; No 60, 11 April 1986; No 38, 20 February 2009 New South Wales Land Registry Services (WebPage) (see endnotes for accessible link) New South Wales Law Reform Commission, Report 110 (2005) – Uniform Succession Laws: Family Provision (May 2005) New South Wales Law Reform Commission, Report 28 (1977) – Testator's Family Maintenance and Guardianship of Infants Act, 1916 (June 1977) New South Wales Legislative Assembly, Parliamentary Debates (Hansard), 23 November 1982, 21 November 1985, 25 September 2008, 21 October 2008 New South Wales Legislative Council, Parliamentary Debates (Hansard), 30 August 1916, 1 December 1982, 27 November 1985, 26 June 2008, 24 September 2008 Philip, Geofrey and Charles Dawson Irwin, Parker's Practice in Equity (New South Wales) (2nd ed, 1949, The Law Book Co of Australasia Ltd) Practice Note SC EQ 7 Sciencepod, "A historical look: When was social media invented?" (WebPage) (see endnotes for accessible link) Spatial Portal, "Map Viewers" (WebPage) (see endnotes for accessible link) Statista, "Volume of data/information created, captured, copied, and consumed worldwide from 2010 to 2023, with forecasts from 2024 to 2028" (WebPage) (see endnotes for accessible link) Thomson Reuters, "What is skip tracing? An overview" (WebPage) (see endnotes for accessible link) Trove, "Trove Content" (WebPage) (see endnotes for accessible link) Trove, "What is Trove" (WebPage) (see endnotes for accessible link) Wright, RJ Davern, Testator's Family Maintenance in Australia and New Zealand (1st ed, 1954, The Law Book Co of Australasia Ltd) Category: Procedural rulings Parties: Dilsa Liosatos (Plaintiff) Andres Liosatos (Defendant) Representation: Counsel: M Bradford (Plaintiff) P Muscat (Defendant) Solicitors: Lees Luke Lawyers (Plaintiff) McNamara & Associates (Defendant) File Number(s): 2024/253694