The Estate of Stanislaw Budniak; NSW Trustee & Guardian v Budniak [2015] NSWSC 934

Supreme Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: The Estate of Stanislaw Budniak; NSW Trustee & Guardian v Budniak [2015] NSWSC 934 Hearing dates: 4, 5, 6, 7, 11, 12 and 13 May 2015Final Written Submissions received 29 May 2015 Decision date: 30 July 2015 Jurisdiction: Equity Division Before: Hallen J Decision: Direct the parties to deliver within 7 days an agreed form of Short Minutes of Order. If that proves impossible to achieve, then competing forms of order should be provided within that time. The question of costs, may be dealt with as a separate issue, unless agreement is reached. Click here to enter text. Catchwords: SUCCESSION – PRACTICE & PROCEDURE – Duly executed Will made in 2007 – Original Will lost post death – Nature of order that may be made in respect of copy Will in event that it is found to be a true copy of a valid Will

SUCCESSION – Validity of duly executed Will – Elderly testator with some cognitive impairment – Medical and non-medical evidence – Duly executed Will changed long held testamentary intention of deceased to benefit all of his children – Change to benefit one child and that child's son –Circumstances surrounding the giving of instructions and execution of 2007 Will some five months later – Whether deceased had testamentary capacity and knew and approved contents of 2007 Will

SUCCESSION – Informal testamentary document made in 1994 – No dispute that it was not executed in accordance with s 6 Succession Act 2006 – No dispute that the document purports to state the testamentary intentions of the deceased and that the deceased intended the document to form a Will – No dispute that if Court not satisfied of validity of 2007 Will that there should be grant of Probate to Cross-Claimant of the 1994 informal testamentary document Legislation Cited: Births Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 1995 (NSW) Family Provision Act 1982 (NSW) Interpretation Act 1987 (NSW) NSW Trustee and Guardian Act 2009 (NSW) Probate and Administration Act 1898 (NSW) Public Trustee Act 1913 (NSW) Succession Act 2006 (NSW) Supreme Court Rules 1970 (NSW) Cases Cited: Bailey v Bailey [1924] HCA 21;(1924) 34 CLR 558 Banks v Goodfellow (1870) LR 5 QB 549 Bool v Bool [1941] St R Qd 26 Boughton v Knight (1873) LR 3 P&D 64 Brown v Wade [2010] WASC 367 Bull v Fulton [1942] HCA 13; (1942) 66 CLR 295 Cahill v Rhodes [2002] NSWSC 561 Camden v McKenzie [2007] QCA 136; [2008] 1 Qd R 39 Chiu Man Fu v Chiu Chung Kwan Ying [2012] HKCFI 82 Curley v Duff (1985) 2 NSWLR 716 D'Apice v Gutkovich; Estate of Abraham (No 2) [2010] NSWSC 1333 Dickman v Holley; Estate of Simpson [2013] NSWSC 18 Estate Kouvakas; Lucas v Konakas [2014] NSWSC 786 Estate of Williams deceased (1984) 36 SASR 423 Frizzo v Frizzo [2011] QCA 308 Gill v Woodall [2010] EWCA Civ 1430; [2011] Ch 380 Harwood v Baker (1840) 3 Moo PC 282 Hoff v Atherton [2004] EWCA Civ 1554; [2005] WTLR 99 In re Munn; Hopkins v Warren [1943] SA St Rp 44; [1943] SASR 304 In re R (dec'd) [1950] 2 All ER 117 In the estate of Musolino (deceased) [2008] SASC 334 In the Will of Brian Lindsay O'Connor [2011] QSC 360 In the Will of England (1900) 22 ALT 86 In the Will of Wilson [1898] VicLawRp 39; (1897) 23 VLR 197 Jolley v Jarvis [1964] P 262; [1964] 1 All ER 596 Kerr v Badran; Estate of Badran [2004] NSWSC 735 Key v Key [2010] EWHC 408; [2010] 1 WLR 2020 King v Hudson [2009] NSWSC 1013 Koerstz v Norman [2008] NSWSC 133 Kuhl v Liebcheschel [1933] SA St Rp 41; [1933] SASR 394 Le Bon v Lili [2013] VSC 431 Lemon v Lemon [2014] QSC 123 Lifely v Lifely [2008] EWCA Civ 904 Manning v Hughes; Estate of Ludewig [2010] NSWSC 226 New South Wales v Hunt [2014] NSWCA 47; (2014) 86 NSWLR 226 Nicholson v Knaggs [2009] VSC 64 Nock v Austin [1918] HCA 73; (1918) 25 CLR 519 Oakes v Uzzell [1932] P 19; (1931) 100 LPJ 99 Palin v Ponting [1930] P 185 Paraskov v Paraskos [2002] WASC 109 Parker v Felgate (1883) 8 PD 171 Perrins v Holland [2009] EWHC 1945 Powell v Dinwoodie [2012] WASC 139 Re Griffith; Easter v Griffith (1995) 217 ALR 284 Re Hodges; Shorter v Hodges (1988) 14 NSWLR 698 Re Levy [1953] VLR 652 Read v Carmody [1998] NSWCA 182 Sarat Kumari Bibi v Sakhi Chand (1928) LR 8 Ind App 62 Scott v Romanoff [2015] VSC 343 Sharp v Adam [2006] EWCA Civ 449; [2006] WTLR 1059 Simon v Byford [2014] EWCA Civ 280 Smith v Tebbitt (1867) LR 1 P&D 398 Taylor v Waters (Supreme Court, Powell J, 19 June 1992, unrep) Timbury v Coffee [1941] HCA 22; (1941) 66 CLR 277 Tobin v Ezekiel [2012] NSWCA 285; (2012) 83 NSWLR 757 Transport Industries Insurance Co Ltd v Longmuir [1997] 1 VR 125 Tsagouris v Bellairs [2010] SASC 147 Tu v Tu; Estate of Tu [2008] NSWSC 458 Tyrrell v Painton [1894] P 151 Van Alst v Hunter (1821) 5 Johns. Ch. 148 Veall v Veall [2014] VSC 38 Vernon v Watson; Estate Clarice Isabel Quigley dec'd [2002] NSWSC 600 Vigolo v Bostin [2005] HCA 11; (2005) 221 CLR 191 Vukotic v Vukotic [2013] VSC 718 Wade v Frost [2014] SASC 162 Waters v Waters (1848) 2 De G & Sm 591; 64 ER 263 Worth v Clasohm [1952] HCA 67; (1952) 86 CLR 439 Zorbas v Sidiropoulous (No 2) [2009] NSWCA 197 Texts Cited: Kenneth I. Shulman, Carole A. Cohen, Felice C. Kirsh and Pamela R. Champine, "Assessment of Testamentary Capacity and Vulnerability to Undue Influence" (2007) 164 The American Journal of Psychiatry 722