Public Trustee v Solah & 6 Ors [1999] NSWSC 660

New South Wales Supreme Court CITATION : Public Trustee v Solah & 6 Ors [1999] NSWSC 660 CURRENT JURISDICTION : Equity Division FILE NUMBER(S) : 4635/97 HEARING DATE(S) : 15/06/99 JUDGMENT DATE : 2 July 1999

PARTIES : Public Trustee - Estate of Francis Solah v Donald Souglas Solah & 6 Others JUDGMENT OF : Master Macready at 1

Mr B. Townsend for the plaintiff COUNSEL : Mr J. Wilson for the 1st defendant Mr A.L. Hill for the 2 and 3 defendants Mr P. Blackburn-Hart for the 4,5,6 & 7 defendants

SOLICITORS : P.J. Whitehead for the plaintiff Devitt Williamson Isabella, Dapto for the 2 and 3 defendants Lane & O'Rourke for the 4, 5, 6 & 7 defendants CATCHWORDS : Succession. Next of kin enquiry. Proper approach to such an enquiry. Need for claimants to prove their claims. Walsh v Weigall (1887) 13 VLR 449 at 453 applied.; Presumption in s 9 and s 10 considered. DECISION : Para 56

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF NEW SOUTH WALES EQUITY DIVISION

MASTER MACREADY

Friday 2 July 1999

4635/97 PUBLIC TRUSTEE v DOUGLAS SOLAH AND OTHERS

JUDGMENT

1 MASTER: This is the hearing of an enquiry into the identity of the next of kin of Francis Solah (the deceased) late of Mittagong in the State of New South Wales retired market gardener. The deceased died on the 27 November 1989 at the age of 85 years. On 19 January 1929 the deceased married a Doris Graham. He and his wife appear on the evidence to have cohabited for a short period of time before she left him. She has not been located. The evidence proves that the deceased had no defacto wife and no issue. His parents, his brothers and sisters predeceased him.