Russell v Percy [2004] NSWSC 804

New South Wales Supreme Court

CITATION : Russell v Percy [2004] NSWSC 804 HEARING DATE(S) : 30 March 2004 JUDGMENT DATE : 1 September 2004 JURISDICTION: Equity division JUDGMENT OF : Master McLaughlin at 1 DECISION : 1. I order that, in addition to the benefits to which she is entitled under the will of the late Keith MacDonald Simpson ("the Deceased"), the Plaintiff receive a legacy in the sum of $150,000, such legacy to be borne by those parts of the estate of the Deceased to which under the said will the Defendant, Luke Simpson Percy, Ruth Emily Russell and Thomas Keith Everall Russell are entitled, such legacy not to bear interest if paid on or before 1 December 2004, and if not so paid to bear interest at the rates prescribed for unpaid legacies under the Wills, Probate and Administration Act 1898.; 2. I order that the costs of the Plaintiff on the party and party basis and the costs of the Defendant on the indemnity basis be paid out of the estate of the Deceased.; 3. The exhibits may be returned.

CATCHWORDS : Succession - Family Provision - Claim by adult daughter - Relatively large estate - Plaintiff and her five children share estate - Financial and material circumstances of Plaintiff - Competing claims of other beneficiaries - Whether Plaintiff has been left without adequate provision for her proper maintenance - Plaintiff seeks provision by way of a house. LEGISLATION CITED : Family Provision Act 1982 Wills, Probate and Administration Act 1898 CASES CITED : Singer v Berghouse (1994) 181 CLR 201 PARTIES : Suzanne Sinclair Russell Diana Marie Percy FILE NUMBER(S) : SC 5112 of 2002 COUNSEL : R. D. Wilson, A. J. Tibby (Plaintiff) J. R. Wilson SC (Defendant) SOLICITORS : A W M Dickinson & Son (Plaintiff) Yandell Wright Stell (Defendant)