Bates v Trustees of the Redemptorist Fathers [2015] NSWSC 539

Supreme Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: Bates v Trustees of the Redemptorist Fathers [2015] NSWSC 539 Hearing dates: 4 May 2015 Decision date: 04 May 2015 Jurisdiction: Equity Division Before: Stevenson J Decision: Declare that, on the proper construction of the last will of Paul Anthony Gerard Bates, the gift in cl 5(f) is a valid gift to the first defendant Catchwords: PROCEDURE – declaration ought not to be made merely because the parties consent; WILLS AND ESTATES – construction of a will – words used – whether terms of the will and surrounding circumstances suggest the deceased intended to make a valid gift – the testator's "armchair" Legislation Cited: Charitable Trusts Act 1993 (NSW) Roman Catholic Church Communities' Lands Act 1942 (NSW) Succession Act 2006 (NSW) Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 2005 (NSW) Cases Cited: Boyes v Cook (1880) 14 Ch D 53 Fell v Fell [1922] HCA 55; 31 CLR 268 Hatzantonis v Lawrence [2003] NSWSC 914 Parry v Haisma [2012] NSWSC 290 Perrin v Morgan [1943] AC 399 Williams v Powell [1894] 1 WN 141 Texts Cited: G E Dal Pont and K F Mackie, Law of Succession, (2013, LexisNexis Butterworths) P W Young, C Croft and M Smith, On Equity, (2009, Thomson Reuters Lawbook Co.) Category: Principal judgment Parties: James Patrick Bates (First Plaintiff) Doris Anne Bates (Second Plaintiff) Trustees of the Redemptorist Fathers pursuant to Roman Catholic Church Communities' Lands Act 1942 (NSW) (First Defendant) John Christopher Bates in his capacity as representative of the next of kin of the late Paul Anthony Gerard Bates entitled on intestacy (Second Defendant) Representation: Counsel: M Gorrick (Plaintiffs) J C Hewitt (First Defendant) J J Loofs (Second Defendant)