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Bourke v Keep [2011] NSWSC 88 (1 March 2011)

Last Updated: 14 April 2011



Supreme Court

New South Wales

Case Title:
Bourke v Keep


Medium Neutral Citation:


Hearing Date(s):
Tuesday 16 February 2011


Decision Date:
01 March 2011


Jurisdiction:



Before:
Associate Justice Macready


Decision:
1. The plaintiff receives a legacy of $200,000 out of the estate of the deceased.
2. The plaintiff's costs on the ordinary basis and the defendants' costs on the indemnity basis be paid or retained out of the estate of the deceased.
3. Interest is to run on the legacy at the rate provided in the Probate and Administration Act 1898 from three months after the date of these orders.


Catchwords:
WILLS AND ESTATES - family provision claim - relationship with the deceased - deceased and daughter estranged for 38 years


Legislation Cited:


Cases Cited:
Benney v Jones (1991) 23 NSWLR 559
Ford v Simes [2009] NSWCA 351
Gorton v Parks (1989) 17 NSWLR 1
Hughes v Hughes (Court of Appeal, 6 June 1989, unreported)
Nicholls v Hall [2007] NSWSC 356
Palmer v Dolman; Dolman v Palmer [2005] NSWCA 361
Pontifical Society for the Propagation of the Faith v Scales (Scales' case) [1962] HCA 19; (1962) 107 CLR 9
Savic v Kim [2010] NSWSC 1401
Singer v Berghouse [1994] HCA 40
Vigolo v Bostin [2005] HCA 11
Walker v Walker (New South Wales Supreme Court, 17 May 1996, unreported)


Texts Cited:



Category:
Principal judgment


Parties:
Marion Gay Bourke v Gwendolene Ann Keep & Graham Christopher Keep


Representation


- Counsel:
Mr RE Quickenden & Mr G Dilworth for plaintiff
Mr RD Wilson for defendants


- Solicitors:
Nash Allen Williams & Wotton for plaintiff
Hancock Alldis & Roskov for defendants


File number(s):
2010/283355

Publication Restriction:


Judgment


  1. This is an application under the Succession Act 2006 ('the Act') in respect of the estate the late Joyce Winifred Keep who died on 29 August 2009 aged 82 years. The deceased was survived by the plaintiff, Marion Bourke, her daughter and the first and second defendants, Gwendoline and Graham Keep, who are the deceased's daughter and son.

Deceased's will


  1. The deceased's last will was made on 7 July 1992, under which she appointed Gwendolene Ann Keep and Graham Christopher Keep as her executors and trustees. The deceased, by her will, gave the whole of her estate to Gwendolene and Graham in equal shares. She made no provision in that will for her remaining daughter Marion.
  2. In clause 3 of her will she said the following:

" I HAVE made no provision in this my Will for my daughter MARION GAY BOURKES [sic] because of her complete lack of concern or contact with me and other members of my family over a long period of time".

Estate


  1. The deceased's estate comprised her house at Kimberley Road, Hurstville, which has an agreed value of $600,000 together with cash of $86,105.
  2. The plaintiff's costs for a one day hearing are estimated at $42,000. The defendants estimate their costs will be $38,512 of which $18,122.16 has already been paid. An amount of $20,279.84 is still to be paid. Therefore the cash left in the estate will be $20,826 if orders for costs are made.

History


  1. The deceased was born in January 19 27 . She married and she and her husband had three children, Gwendolene Ann Keep born in November 19 48 , Marion Gay Bourke born in March 19 51 and Graham Christopher Keep born in July 1955.
  2. In February 1966, aged 14 years, the plaintiff left school and commenced work. All the children left school at about the same age.
  3. In 1968, the plaintiff met her future husband, Robert Bourke. They became engaged and they married in November 1971. The circumstances surrounding their marriage, which included an application by the plaintiff to the court for consent to the marriage (because she was only 20 years of age at the time), resulted in a break within the family. As a result Marion left the family home at Hurstville in 1971 at the age of 20.
  4. Since that time she saw the deceased on five occasions. The first occasion occurred some time about 1973 when Marion and her husband saw the deceased and Gwendolene at the local shops. The second was in 1986, when Marion visited her father at a nursing home in Canterbury shortly before he died . The deceased and Gwendolene were present at the time. The third occasion was at her father's funeral. The fourth occasion was late in 2003, when Marion saw the deceased at her Uncle Arthur's funeral. The fifth occasion was on the date of the deceased's death on 29 August 2009.
  5. Marion has four children. Her daughters, Joanne Harder, was born in February 1973, Tammie in February 1976 and Tony in August 1978 and Christopher, was born in June 1989.
  6. As I have mentioned the deceased made her last will on 7 July 1992.
  7. Between 2002 and 2003, Marion and her husband Robert Bourke separated.
  8. In 2004, Marion received $120,000 from Robert Bourke in exchange for her share of the matrimonial home at Charmhaven.
  9. In July 2009, the deceased was admitted to St George Hospital and the following month she was moved to Calvary Hospital in Kogarah.
  10. The deceased died on 29 August 2009. Marion visited the deceased that day.
  11. In November 2009, p robate of the deceased's will was granted to the defendants and these proceedings were commenced within time.

Eligibility


  1. Section 59 of the Act relevantly provides:

"59 When family provision order may be made

(1) The Court may, on application under Division 1, make a family provision order in relation to the estate of a deceased person, if the Court is satisfied that:

(a) the person in whose favour the order is to be made is an eligible person, and

(b) in the case of a person who is an eligible person by reason only of paragraph (d), (e) or (f) of the definition of eligible person in section 57-having regard to all the circumstances of the case (whether past or present) there are factors which warrant the making of the application, and

(c) at the time when the Court is considering the application, adequate provision for the proper maintenance, education or advancement in life of the person in whose favour the order is to be made has not been made by the will of the deceased person, or by the operation of the intestacy rules in relation to the estate of the deceased person, or both.

(2) The Court may make such order for provision out of the estate of the deceased person as the Court thinks ought to be made for the maintenance, education or advancement in life of the eligible person, having regard to the facts known to the Court at the time the order is made.

...."


  1. Marion is an eligible person (section 57(1)(c)). In applications under the predecessor of this Act, the High Court has referred to the two stage approach in Singer v Berghouse [1994] HCA 40; (1994) 181 CLR 201 (see also Savic v Kim [2010] NSWSC 1401). In Singer v Berghouse Mason CJ, Deane and McHugh JJ stated at 208-210:

"The first stage calls for a determination of whether the applicant has been left without adequate provision for his or her proper maintenance, education and advancement in life. The second stage, which only arises if that determination be made in favour of the applicant, requires the court to decide what provision ought to be made out of the deceased's estate for the applicant. The first stage has been described as the "jurisdictional question". ....

....

The first question is, was the provision (if any) made for the applicant "inadequate for [his or her] proper maintenance, education and advancement in life"? The difference between "adequate" and "proper" and the interrelationship which exists between "adequate provision" and "proper maintenance" etc were explained in Bosch v Perpetual Trustee Co Ltd [1938] AC, at p 476. The determination of the first stage in the two-stage process calls for an assessment of whether the provision (if any) made was inadequate for what, in all the circumstances, was the proper level of maintenance etc appropriate for the applicant having regard, amongst other things, to the applicant's financial position, the size and nature of the deceased's estate, the totality of the relationship between the applicant and the deceased, and the relationship between the deceased and other persons who have legitimate claims upon his or her bounty.

The determination of the second stage, should it arise, involves similar considerations. Indeed, in the first stage of the process, the court may need to arrive at an assessment of what is the proper level of maintenance and what is adequate provision, in which event, if it becomes necessary to embark upon the second stage of the process, that assessment will largely determine the order which should be made in favour of the applicant. In saying that, we are mindful that there may be some circumstances in which a court could refuse to make an order notwithstanding that the applicant is found to have been left without adequate provision for proper maintenance. Take, for example, a case like Ellis v Leeder [1951] HCA 44; (1951) 82 CLR 645, where there were no assets from which an order could reasonably be made and making an order could disturb the testator's arrangements to pay creditors."


  1. It is necessary to consider the situation in life of Marion.

Marion's situation


  1. Marion is presently aged 59 years. She is single. Her son, Christopher, who is disabled, occasionally stays with her and he is dependent upon her. Christopher has been diagnosed with ADHD and conduct disorder. He is unemployed and is in receipt of a disability pension.
  2. Marion was educated to year 8 at Kingsgrove High School. In 2006, she obtained a certificate in horticulture issued by TAFE New South Wales.
  3. Her employment history indicates she had an apprenticeship from 1966 to 1969 with a dressmaker and she worked as a dressmaker between 1969 and 1972. She did not work again until 2007, as she was looking after her four children. At the present time she works part time for the Department of Education as a school escort. She looks after children traveling on a bus to and from school. She works on average eighteen hours per week at an hourly rate of $12.05. She also receives Centrelink benefits.
  4. Marion has multiple medical problems, namely: diabetes; spondylosis of cervical spine; osteoarthritis of her left knee and back; lumbar discopathy at L4 - L5 level; gastro-oesophageal reflux disease; renal calculi (left Kidney); major depression with depressive anxiety disorder; gout; hypercholesteralaemia and hyperlipidaemia; and hypertension.
  5. As a result of her medical problems Marion has an extensive list of medication she takes. She says her gout and reflux problems are associated with her diabetes and she may have to have a knee replacement in the future.
  6. Marion's assets are a 2004 Ford Territory motor vehicle worth $16,500, superannuation worth $380 and shares worth $2,929. She also owns furniture estimated at a replacement value of $10,000.
  7. Marion has income from her Centrelink benefits and the payment she receives from the Department of Education for her work. She works for 40 weeks a year as her job is not available in school holidays. Documents list her monthly income as $1,169. In cross-examination she conceded that she received $750 per fortnight for 40 weeks a year and $580 a fortnight for 12 weeks a year making a total salary of $18,480 per annum. She also receives repayment of a loan from her daughter of $25 per week giving an annual figure of $1,300, which will continue for another year.
  8. These figures show Marion has cash available of $1,648 per month. Whichever way this figure is looked at, as she has to pay rent of $195 per week, her financial situation is precarious.
  9. The property she is renting at Budgewoi is currently listed for sale. When that sale will eventuate is not known. At the present time she does not have a fixed term lease but she is holding over under an expired lease.
  10. Marion did not contribute to the estate of the deceased and there are substantial difficulties concerning the break in the relationship between her and the deceased.
  11. I will now consider the situation of the defendants, Gwendolene and Graham Keep, who have a claim on the bounty of the deceased.

Gwendolene Keep


  1. Gwendolene is 62 years of age, single with no dependents. She lives in the deceased's property at Kimberley Road, Hurstville, with her brother, Graham. They have lived at the property for their entire lives.
  2. Apart from her interest in the estate, Gwendolene's only asset is cash savings of $61,000. She receives a disability pension from Centrelink of $1,413.39 month, which is used in her expenses.
  3. Gwendolene suffers from serious ill health. In paragraph 58 of her affidavit dated 27 October 2010, she listed her medical condition as follows:

"I have been morbidly obese since 2006. I currently weigh approximately 180 kilograms. My weight causes severe back pain. I take Panamax for this pain.

I have been suffering from Diabetes since approximately 1990. My diabetes is controlled by medication. I take Diaformin and Diamicron.

I developed stage 1 cancer of the uterus in 2003. Doctors performed a hysterectomy in 2003 which fully removed the cancer. I was given a clean bill of health in relation to the cancer following the operation.

I have had high blood pressure since the 1990s. My blood pressure is controlled by medication. I take Monoplus, Isoptin and Jezil.

I have Gout, which developed during the 1990s. The gout is controlled by medication. I take Zyloprim.

I am incontinent and have been since 2008. I need regular supplies of pads.

I have high levels of potassium in my body. Doctor's are unsure what causes this but fear that it may affect my heart. I take Lasix to reduce these potassium levels."


  1. Gwendolene's obesity and back pain mean that she has limited mobility, which is illustrated by the fact that it takes her about one and half hours to go into the backyard laundry to do her washing and hang it out on the clothesline in contrast to a fit person who could do the washing in about 20 minutes. Gwendolene has to use a walking frame to walk. When she leaves the house she has to be in a wheelchair.
  2. In the last few years Gwendolene's general practitioner has recommended her hospitalisation to allow her condition to be properly treated, which in part is caused by an inappropriate diet. Gwendolene continues to resist any such recommendations. However, she was admitted to hospital in 2009 because of a serious hypoglycaemic episode.
  3. Gwendolene contributed to the estate of the deceased. In 1970, she paid $1,000 being half the cost of erecting a garage at the Hurstville property. In the 1980s, she paid $4,000 being half the cost of aluminium cladding for the property. In addition she paid $1,200 for the front verandah of the property to be tiled and she paid for a concrete driveway.
  4. Since the deceased's death Gwendolene and Graham have shared the gas, electricity and council rates for the property.
  5. There is nothing in the evidence to suggest that Gwendolene's relationship with her mother was not good.

Graham Keep


  1. Graham is 55 years of age. He is single with no dependents. As I have mentioned he lives in the deceased's home at Hurstville with his sister Gwendolene. He has assets of a small amount of cash, a 1992 Holden station wagon worth $4,000 and superannuation worth $8,000. He has a Mastercard liability of $3,000.
  2. Graham receives a Newstart allowance from Centrelink of $918 per month, which is mostly consumed by his outgoings.
  3. Graham's health is poor. In paragraphs 44 to 46 of his affidavit dated 26 October 2010, he listed his medical issues as follows:

"44. ...

a) Obesity

b) I have been suffering from Diabetes since approximately 1982. Initially my diabetes was controlled by tablets and diet. In 1994 I began to require 4 insulin injections per day; this has now increased to 6 injections per day. I require 3 injections of Lantus Insulin per day and 3 injections of Nova Rapid Insulin per day.

c) My 3 rd and 4 th vertebrae are 3mm out of line. This condition was diagnosed in approximately 2004. Doctors say this condition is due to the degeneration of my spine. An Assessor from Cenrelink told me that I cannot lift more than 15 kilograms. This condition limits the variety of jobs that I can do. It also prevents me from doing any heavy duty housework.

d) I suffer from the narrowing of my spinal canal in my lower back. This ailment was diagnosed five months ago, in early 2010. This condition is controlled by medication.

e) I have had high blood pressure for many years. My blood pressure is controlled by medication. I take Physioten.

f) I suffer from Depression. My depression was diagnosed in August 2009, shortly following the death of the deceased and a number of other close friends.

g) I have Gout, which developed during the mid 1970s. The gout is controlled by medication. I take Allosig. I have not had an attack of gout for over 30 years.

45. I spend approximately $60.00 per month on medication. This is a discounted rate as I receive Centrelink benefits.

46. I also take a number of other medications daily such as Mono Plus, Lipitor, Atacand, Visken and Amlo 10."


  1. Graham last worked on a full time basis for Rockdale City Council from 1996 until 2003. Since 2006, he has worked casually as a delivery driver. With his medical problems it would appear unlikely that he will obtain work in the future although he does try to obtain work.
  2. Graham did not contribute to the deceased's estate. Plainly he had a good relationship with the deceased throughout his life.

Estrangement between Marion and the deceased


  1. Marion met her future husband, Robert Bourke, when she was 17 years of age. After going out together for some time they became engaged, which the deceased was not happy about. After about 12 months of being engaged, Marion and Robert wanted to get married.
  2. In 1970, when Marion was 19, Robert was asked to go to an army posting in Singapore and he was informed that Marion would be able to accompany him if they were married.
  3. Marion's parents were opposed to the marriage and she was told if she wished to marry Robert she would have to leave the family home, which she did. Marion had to make an application to the court to obtain permission to marry because she was under the age of 21 years at the time. The proceedings were commenced and although her parents were served with the documents they did not oppose the proceedings and signed the required documents shortly before the hearing.
  4. On 13 November 1971, Marion and Robert were married at the Church of Christ at Hurstville. Marion invited her parents to the wedding. Her parents returned the invitation to the wedding and they did not attend. Marion asked a neighbour who consented to walk her down the aisle.
  5. There would seem to have been two objections by Marion's parents to her wedding. One was that they could not afford the costs of the wedding and the second being that they had reservations about the Marion marrying a soldier who was at risk of possible injury and death. So far as the first reservation is concerned Marion offered to pay for the wedding from her savings of $400 and, indeed, that is what happened.
  6. There was also an indication of the deep rift in the relationship from a letter the deceased wrote to Marion about a cat that Marion had to leave behind at the family home. In the letter the deceased threatened legal proceedings against Marion unless Marion gave the deceased ownership of the cat or unless Marion paid for cost of boarding the cat after she had left.
  7. The relationship between Marion and the deceased and what Marion proposed to do about it, at that stage in her life, is illustrated by answers she gave in cross-examination as follows:

"Q. You did not take Tammy, who was born in 1976, to see your parents?

A. No.

Q. You did not tell them you were pregnant and you had Tammy?

A. No.

Q. You did not tell them that Tony was born in 1978?

A. No.

Q. You did not take him to see your parents?

A. No.

Q. Christopher was born after your dad passed away?

A. Yes.

Q. You did not take him to see your mother?

A. No.

Q. These were deliberate decisions on your part not to take your children to see your parents and, in the case of Christopher, to see your mother, correct?

A. Yes.

Q. Are you comfortable that your parents knew through the Grapevine you had had these children?

A. Yes.

Q. At that time did you believe your parents might have wanted to see their grandchildren?

A. Yes.

Q. And you deliberately chose not to take your children to see your parents in order to inflict grief on them, correct?

A. No.

Q. You knew it would hurt them if you did not take your children to see your parents, correct?

A. It would.

.......................

Q. You agree you did not desire to have a closer relationship with your mother from 1970 onwards?

A. I would have liked to.

Q. You say that now, but up until her death you did not want that, did you?

A. Yes.

Q. You did not tell her that, did you?

A. I told her.

Q. When did you tell her?

A. In hospital.

Q. On the day she died?

A. Yes.

Q. When she was slipping in and out of consciousness?

A. Yes.

Q. You did not attempt from 1973 to 2009 to foster a closer relationship with your mother, did you?

A. No.

Q. You knew where she lived?

A. Yes.

Q. You did not attempt to ring her up?

A. No.

Q. You did not send her birthday cards, did you?

A. The same thing happened to her, she didn't do it to me.

Q. You did not send her Christmas cards?

A. No.

Q. For a long time after your parents did not agree to your marriage to Robert you hated them, didn't you?

A. No.

Q. You turned your back on them, didn't you?

A. Yes.

Q. And I think it is fair to say you agree up to your mother's death you never ever did not turn your back on them, did you?

A. No.

Q. You are not concerned about whether your mother was upset with the lack of contact she had with you, were you?

A. I was.

Q. That was minor compared to what you believed was unfair treatment by your mother?

A. Yes."


  1. It will be recalled that Marion had her first child in 1973. Gwendolene gave evidence that she and the deceased came across Marion and Robert with their baby when they were walking to the local shops. On seeing them approach, Gwendolene says that Marion covered the baby with a blanket and they continued to walk straight past without speaking.
  2. Marion denies that this happened. However, having regard to the fact that she exhibited a tendency to tailor her evidence to suit her present case I will accept Gwendolene's evidence.
  3. The next occasion that Marion came across the deceased was in 1986 when she visited her father in a nursing home at Canterbury. Marion had her family with her and her father asked the nurse to call his wife to come to the nursing home. The deceased came to the nursing home with Gwendolene. The deceased's husband asked her to buy some sweets for his grandchildren who were with their mother, Marion. The deceased refused his request and claimed that she did not have her purse with her. On the evidence, although there was some conflict, I think it likely that the deceased did have her purse with her. The visit became difficult and indeed nasty. When Marion left her father's bedside with her children, Gwendolene accused her of being a "vulture" and only interested in money.
  4. Marion attended her father's funeral. She and the deceased did not speak to each other. Marion claims at paragraph 120 of her affidavit of 19 August 2010 that neither her name, nor the names of her family members were mentioned in the service. She was not cross examined on this point.
  5. The next time Marion saw the deceased was at her uncle Arthur's funeral when she asked the deceased where her father was placed, presumably, in the crematorium. The deceased did not speak but pointed to a wall on which there were numerous plaques.
  6. Plainly there was no reconciliation on these two occasions.
  7. The next occasion was on Saturday 29 August 2009, when Marion and her daughter, Joanne, drove down to see the deceased. This was the day of the deceased's death. From the evidence of Joanne it seems clear that although Marion might have said that she loved her mother and forgave her, it was all too late as the deceased was unconscious.
  8. What is one to make of the 38 year estrangement between the deceased and Marion?
  9. Section 60 of the Act provides the Court may take into consideration a number of specified matters as well as any other matter the court considers relevant in order to determine whether the applicant is a eligible person and whether to make a family provision order and the nature of such an order. Relevantly, among these matters for consideration are the relationship between the applicant and the deceased (60(2)(a)), any evidence of the testamentary intentions of the deceased person, including evidence of statements made by the deceased person (60(2)(j)), the character and conduct of the applicant before and after the date of the death of the deceased person (s 60(2)(m)) and the conduct of any other person before and after the date of the death of the deceased person (s 60(2)(n)) .
  10. In Benney v Jones (1991) 23 NSWLR 559 at 568-9, Priestley JA referred to the use of the word 'ought' in section 7 of the earlier Family Provision Act 1982 (equivalent to the use of the word in section 59(2) of the Act) and noted as follows:

"This conclusion directly raises the question of whether the word 'ought' in s 7 of the Act carries with it an idea of moral obligation. In answering this question some guidance may be obtained from authoritative decisions under the Testator's Family Maintenance & Guardianship of Infants Act 1916 (as amended), using due care to take account of the differences between the two Acts.

...

It seems plain from the comparison of the two Acts, and particularly from s 3 of the 1916 Act and s 7 and s 9 of the present Act, that language from the earlier Act has been deliberately carried into the later one. It would seem that at least one purpose of this retention of much litigated sets of words is that the benefit of the authorities on those words may be available in the construction of the present Act. The same reasoning supports the view that where the new Act uses a different word in an important operative section from the word in the corresponding section of the earlier Act, the difference is deliberate and has a purpose.

The Act draws a distinction between the eligible persons referred to in par (a) and par (b) on the one hand and par (c) and par (d) on the other. Broadly speaking, the distinction can be seen as one between classes of people who, in the ordinary course of family life would, prima facie, be persons to whom the deceased person spoken of in s 3 of the 1916 Act and s 7 of the present Act would have an obligation to make provision, whereas those in the other class would, prima facie, not be regarded in the ordinary course of family life as being likely to be made the subject of provision by the deceased.

In regard to the first class, the more usual approach under the 1916 Act was that before making an order, the court needed to be satisfied that the testator ought to have made provision for the applicant, in all the circumstances of the case: see Bosch v Perpetual Trustee Co Ltd [1938] AC 463 at 478-479 and Hughes v National Trustees Executors and Agency Co of Australasia Ltd [1979] HCA 2; (1979) 143 CLR 134 at 146-147 per Gibbs J, with whom Mason and Aickin JJ both agreed. However, there was a differing view, expressed by Murphy J, in the same case when, after commenting (at 158) that 'many cases suggest that an applicant must show a moral claim ...', he went on to say that this was a gloss on the Act that was unwarranted and inconsistent with the language of the legislative scheme.

It seems to me that the introduction into s 7 of the present Act of the word 'ought' in replacement of the words from s 3 of the 1916 Act 'as the Court thinks fit' shows the intention of the present Act to accept the approach adopted by the majority in Hughes and to reject that of Murphy J. The word 'ought' seems to be deliberately adopted, in the present Act, from what Gibbs J called the classical statement in Bosch . To my mind, this is a very clear indication that an eligible person within par (c) and par (d) must show a moral claim on the estate before an order can be made; I also think this is the same thing as saying that the deceased person must have had a moral obligation to that eligible person. It is hard to imagine how the one could exist without the other. It seems to me that the same reasoning is very probably applicable to applications by eligible persons within par (a) and par (b) although it is unnecessary to decide that in this case."


  1. Meagher JA (NSWLR at 57) agreed with Priestley JA.
  2. Meagher JA had previously expressed a view in Hughes v Hughes (Court of Appeal, 6 June 1989, unreported) (an adult daughter case) that the duty arose to make provision as established in that case as follows:

"Her right arises not merely from the bare fact of parenthood, which of itself does not generate a right , but from the general circumstances of the case; namely, parenthood, the performance of normal filial duties in the 10 years after she left school and in the two periods between her earlier trips and in her professed and continued willingness to be of whatever assistance to her father she could be." (Emphasis added)


  1. Hope and Samuels JJA concurred in the judgment of Meagher JA in Hughes v Hughes .
  2. In Benney v Jones , Mahoney JA at 560 said:

"Whether an order should be made raises (as it has been described) the moral or normative question. That question remains, whether the application is made under the former or the present Act. The nature of that question was discussed in this Court and in the High Court in White v Barron [1980] HCA 14; (1980) 144 CLR 431; and in Goodman v Windeyer (1980) 144 CLR 490: see, also, Kearns v Ellis (Court of Appeal 5 December 1984 unreported) and Gorton v Parks (1989) 17 NSWLR 1

Where the applicant is a member of the deceased's family, as referred to in the earlier paragraphs of s 6(1) relating to eligible persons, the nature of the duty which the deceased should have fulfilled is reasonably clear."


  1. In Gorton v Parks (1989) 17 NSWLR 1 at 7, Bryson J analysed the relevant authorities dealing with claims by able-bodied adult males. For present purposes, there is no reason to distinguish able-bodied adult females. In the course of doing so, his Honour noted:

"It is then established by authority that no special principle is to be applied, and it seems important to warn myself against allowing prima facie views or the success of some applicants who have special claims to disturb the perception that there is no special principle. In particular, an idea that an able-bodied adult male who is earning a living could have no claim in relation to resources of any size is quite erroneous and must not be entertained either prima facie or at any stage. It is a discarded categorisation."


  1. Pontifical Society for the Propagation of the Faith v Scales ( Scales' case ) [1962] HCA 19; (1962) 107 CLR 9 was a claim by an adult son, who was unsuccessful, and in that case where Dixon CJ said (at 18):

"The outstanding fact of the case is that, throughout the period of their joint lives, the son disregarded the father and the father disregarded the son and after a time expressly disowned him. ... In truth there is the bare fact of paternity and no other mutual relation: the case depends upon that fact and basically upon nothing else except all the arguments of right and wrong that may be considered to spring from that source and affect the situation of the parties as it existed at the testator's death."


  1. In Gorton v Parks at 9-10, Bryson J sought to distinguish Scales' case . He said:

"Dixon CJ did not expound the weight which he gave to the bare fact of paternity and nothing else; I regard that bare fact as of very great importance in morality. The idea that the moral obligations arising from paternity are diminished or do not exist if the parent withholds acknowledgment of the obligations or of the child appears to me to be an idea from a distant age. There have been changes over long periods in the beliefs of the community about moral duty to children, and there seems in the distant past to have been some acceptance of a view that unless children were legitimate or were acknowledged by their father, he has no moral duty towards them. There seem to have been legal systems in the past in which attempts to provide for illegitimate children by will were ineffective; ... Under modern legislation parental duties are not distinguished according to acknowledgment or legitimacy. The idea that acknowledgment by a parent of a child or full accordance of status by a parent might increase the responsibilities of a parent or be significant to moral duty towards the child, with the contrary implications, seems a very strange idea and it is curious to find it, even in a limited way, in a judgment published as recently as 1962."


  1. Bryson J in any event distinguished Scales' case (p 11) on the basis that on the facts before him the plaintiffs:

"In their childhood years they lived in the same street in which their father lived in far greater prosperity a few doors away: they saw him and he saw them from time to time, and they had a relationship with him in which negative aspects preponderated greatly or almost exclusively over any positive aspects of the familial relation. A mutual relation there was. Each of them had a relationship with the testator which the testator brought to an end; in the case of Mrs Joan Adams and Mr John Culcott, he saw something of them and made an inadequate contribution to their maintenance in their childhood, but in effect abandoned the relationship before they reached mature years and at a time when they cannot fairly be held responsible for ending the relationship. They were present before his eyes in their childhood and years of education and trade training; he knew who they were, he must have had an idea of what they were doing, and he did not make even token attempts to assist them in any way. ..."


  1. In Walker v Walker (New South Wales Supreme Court, 17 May 1996, unreported) Young J reviewed the question of moral duty. His Honour reviewed Gorton's case, in the context of the earlier High Court and House of Lords decisions, noting the effect of Singer v Berghouse as follows:

"In Singer's case, a widow who had been married less than one year to a sixty-eight year old man failed in her application under this Act in this court, in the Court of Appeal and in the High Court. The majority of the court said at p 208 and following that to assess a claim under the present Act there is a two stage process. The first stage is to determine whether an applicant has been left without adequate provision and the second stage is to determine what provision ought to have been made. At p 209 the Judges point out that Re Allen has guided past courts and has three times been approved by the Privy Council or High Court, but that 'we doubt this statement provides useful assistance in elucidating the statutory provision. Indeed, references to 'moral duty' or 'moral obligation' may well be understood as amounting to a gloss on the statutory language'. They then say 'the determination of the first stage in the two stage process calls for an assessment of whether the provision (if any) made was inadequate for what, in all the circumstances, was the proper level of maintenance etc. appropriate for the applicant having regard, amongst other things, to the applicant's financial position, the size and nature of the deceased's estate, the totality of the relationship between the applicant and the deceased, and the relationship between the deceased and other persons who have legitimate claims upon his or her bounty."


  1. Young J also observed:

"In Fraser's case, Kirby P at p 29 said that 'I do not consider that it would be safe for this court, or other courts in this State, to disregard the obiter dicta in Singer v Berghouse concerning 'moral duty.' However, his Honour's decision made it quite clear that he thought that references to moral duty in the judgment under appeal really amounted to little more than a shorthand expression for the lengthier statutory provisions actually used in the Act. His Honour made it clear that there was no drastic change in the law 'either by the observations of the majority in Singer or by the High Court's reference, in the footnote to what Murphy J said earlier (p 27).'

Handley JA thought that the dicta in the High court in Singer should not be followed and pointed out that even as late as 1994 in Neil v Nott [1994] HCA 23; (1994) 68 ALJR 509, the High Court was itself using the words 'moral claim' in decisions under this Act.

Sheller JA again did not consider that the High Court's suggested abandonment of concepts of moral claim or moral obligation changed the task of the court. He said, with reference to decisions of Murphy J at p 42, 'the point made in the judgments to which Murphy J referred was that the existence of a moral obligation owed by the deceased to the claimant was a necessary part of the claimant's case but not alone sufficiently to justify an order in the claimant's favour. Thus, in theory an order would not be made out of the estate of a deceased parent in favour of a child who had over many years completely cut himself or herself off from the parent, even though the child was left in need. On the other hand, a wealthy child who had cared for the parent throughout his or her life may have no claim for further provision under the legislation. The courts, in giving effect to the legislative scheme, having accepted that the bare moral claims of the sort mentioned by Stout CJ in re Allardice (1910) 29 NSWLR 959, 970 will not alone suffice to empower the court to make an order."


  1. The concerns expressed about any change in the law as a result of Singer v Berghouse were put to rest by the High Court in Vigolo v Bostin [2005] HCA 11 at 25, 74-75 and 121.
  2. In Walker v Walker (p27) Young J noted:

"I do not consider that there is any purpose in analysing whose fault it was that the state of non--communication came into place. In family relationships, hurts are often inflicted or suffered some times consciously, some times unconsciously. Sometimes a young child is brainwashed by a custodial parent to consider that the other parent has inflicted some harm, which is all in the mind of the custodial parent. It is often impossible to work out whether the degree of separation between parent and child at the date of the parent's death is solely the fault of either or whether it has come about by factors too strong for either to control or somewhere in between.

The important matter is not fault but whether in all the circumstances it would be expected by the community that the testator would have to make a greater benefaction than he in fact did to constitute proper or adequate provision for the plaintiff.

Accordingly, I reject the approach that all an applicant under this Act has to do is to prove that he or she is an eligible person and that he or she reasonably needs more financial assistance. The cases show that there must be a full investigation into all the facts and circumstances of the matter to see whether the community would expect that a person in the plight of this testator ought to have made provision or further provision for the applicant..."


  1. These words were approved by Ipp J in Palmer v Dolman; Dolman v Palmer [2005] NSWCA 361 when he said:

"112. I agree with his Honour's remarks, although I would express the rider that, often, where an applicant is a person within paragraphs (a) or (b) of the definition of 'eligible person' in s6(1) of the Act, proof that the applicant is a person in need will be sufficient. I accept however that there must be a full investigation into all the facts and circumstances as his Honour expounds."


  1. This view was reinforced recently in Nicholls v Hall [2007] NSWSC 356 where the court said:

"43 There are some statements in the cases that could be understood as meaning that, if there is nothing more than "bare paternity" in factor (1), the relationship between the applicant and the deceased, then the applicant cannot succeed. In our opinion, such an understanding would be plainly wrong. Even if a deceased never even knew of the existence of a child, if that child had a strong case on the other factors (that is, needs, size of estate and lack of competing claims), a court could find that that child was left without adequate provision for proper maintenance.

44 Such a view is supported by what Holland J said in Kleinig v. Neal (No.2) [1981] 2 NSWLR 532 at 540:

If it is a case of a parent and child, another circumstance is that the parent was responsible for bringing the child into the world and having done so assumed a duty to be concerned for the child's welfare.

We should make it clear that, in this discussion of "bare paternity", we are not intending to include a mere sperm donor: in terms of Holland J's statement, it is the persons who make use of the sperm rather than the sperm donor who are responsible for bringing a child into the world.

45 Our view is also supported by what Bryson J said in Gorton v. Parks (1989) 17 NSWLR 1 at 9-10, to the effect that "the bare fact of paternity" is "of very great importance in morality". We agree with Bryson J's justification for departure from what Dixon CJ said on the matter in Pontifical Society for the Propagation of the Faith v. Scales [1962] HCA 19; (1962) 107 CLR 9 at 18-20, as conforming to changing beliefs in the community about moral duties to children.

46 It is supported also by what Ipp JA (with whom Tobias JA and Basten JA agreed) said in Palmer v. Dolman [2005] NSWCA 361 at [112], to the effect that where an applicant is a child, proof that the applicant is a person in need will often be sufficient to justify an order.

47 We accept there is a suggestion to the contrary in Hughes v. Hughes (NSWCA 6 June 1989) where Meagher JA (with whom Hope JA and Samuels JA concurred) said this:

Her right arises not merely from the bare fact of parenthood, which of itself does not generate a right, but from the general circumstances of the case: namely, parenthood, the performance of normal filial duties in the ten years after she left school and in the two periods between her early trips and in her professed and continued willingness to be of whatever assistance to her father she could be.

48 We do not understand an applicant to have a "right" in any clear sense, in any event. It is only if an applicant satisfies the Court that he or she has been left without adequate provision for proper maintenance, and satisfies the Court that provision ought to be made, that it then can be said, in a loose sense, that the applicant has a right to an order. However, that right must depend, not merely on matters concerning the relationship between an applicant and the deceased, but on matters concerning the other three elements that we referred to, namely the applicant's needs, the nature and extent of the deceased's estate, and other legitimate claims. We do not think the passage from Hughes v. Hughes should be read as meaning that entitlement can never be established if the only factor that appears in the relationship aspect of the claim is the bare fact of parenthood."


  1. It is plain that Marion and the deceased had mutually turned their back on their relationship. At the time of her marriage Marion was still young - only 20 years of age and the marriage presented opportunities to her, while to her parents those opportunities represented setbacks. In examination in chief by Mr Quickenden, Marion explained her motives for seeking to marry against their wishes in the following way:

"Q. You married your husband Robert when you were 19?

A. 20. Actually 20 3/4, 13 November 1971 and the March after I would've turned 21.

Q. You were 19 when you asked your parents for their consent to your marrying Robert?

A. Yes.

Q. They said "we can't afford it"?

A. Yes.

Q. They also said they did not like the idea because Robert is going into the Army and he is going to be posted elsewhere. They said that, didn't they?

A. Yes.

Q. Did you regard that as reasonable on their behalf, that they did not agree to you being married at 19?

A. I was not 19, I was 19 was when I got engaged, I was 20.

Q. You understood your parents position, that they did not agree because they could not afford the reception and they had concerns about Robert going into the army overseas?

A. I agree with that and I showed them my bank account, and I said to mum "if you haven't got the money there is the money, I have saved up." I showed them my bank book and I said you can pay that towards it.

Q. You had $400 in the bank?

A. Yes, and that was big money back then.

Q. What did they say, we don't agree to you getting married at this stage?

A. They actually didn't say anything about getting married. Robert and I asked.

Q. Did they try and change the topic?

A. Yes.

Q. You ended up starting court proceedings against your parents for consent?

A. Yes.

Q. Whose idea was that?

A. my husband and myself. My boyfriend at the time was in the Army. He was going to be posted to Singapore and if we were married I could have gone with him and I thought it would be a good idea. It would have been nice to actually go over, a trip of a lifetime.

...

Q. This is a strong position at 19, to take your parents to court?

A. I was not 19, I was 20, and at 20 I had a full time job.

Q. This was a very strong decision at 20, to take your parents to court?

A. Are you going to say if you had a child you are going to stop them from being married?

Q. It was a difficult decision, wasn't it?

A. No, because I loved him at that stage.

Q. You were put to a choice, Robert or my parents, that is what it was all about, wasn't it?

A. My mother said one day to me "Gwen is the eldest, she needs to be married before you."

Q. You were put to that choice, weren't you?

A. Yes.

Q. Robert or my parents and you chose Robert over your parents?

A. Yes.

Q. That was a big decision?

A. Yes.

Q. And a decision which you have abided by from the age of 20 to the death of your mother in 2008, correct?

A. Yes.

Q. How old were you when you left home?

A. 20.

Q. You have never forgiven your parents for them not agreeing to you marrying Robert?

A. I have forgiven them.

Q. You have for given them?

A. Yes.

Q. When did you forgive them?

OBJECTION; ALLOWED.

Q. When did you forgive them?

A. -I forgive dad when I went to see dad in the nursing home before he passed.

Q. In 1986?

A. Yes.

Q. When did you forgive your mother?

A. I forgive her the day I went down to see her in the palliative care in Kogarah."


  1. Marion did not tell her mother or father of the birth of her first child, Joanne, some years later. Nor did she tell her mother or father of the birth of her other children. However, she did know that the deceased knew of the existence of the children because she used to talk to an aunt who would pass on information to her.
  2. Marion appears to have taken a view that because it was the deceased who made her leave the family home it was up to the deceased to make the first approach at reconciliation. From Gwendolene and Graham's evidence it seems the family's attitude was that because Marion had left the family it was up to her to get in contact their mother.
  3. Marion did stay in contact with her Aunt Eleanor and Uncle Arthur. When she was young she might not have been mature enough to consider making an approach to her mother, but one would have expected that as she matured and had more children who may have been a joy to her mother, she would have wished to end their estrangement. Marion did make contact with her family four times and she was either treated with hostility or ignored on those occasions. Equally it is plain that the deceased refused to approach Marion for some reconciliation even though she knew of the existence of her grandchildren. Once Marion was married there was arguably no other reason to continue the estrangement from her daughter.
  4. In any event, relationships are bilateral not unilateral. While it is clear the estrangement came from both sides, at the hearing Graham and Marion each gave evidence that the deceased and Marion would have liked to re-establish their relationship with each other if, as Graham put it in his cross examination, the other had made a "conciliatory effort". The question the court must ask is best phrased by repeating Justice Young's observations in Walker v Walker, " The important matter is not fault but whether in all the circumstances it would be expected by the community that the testator would have to make a greater benefaction than [s]he in fact did to constitute proper or adequate provision for the plaintiff."
  5. In Ford v Simes [2009] NSWCA 351 Bergin CJ in Eq sitting on the Court of Appeal said the following:

[71] It is one thing to make provision for a child, even an adult, where the court is able to better balance the obligations of the testator with the adequacy of the provision made by the testator. However in my view it is very important for the maintenance of the integrity of the process in these types of applications that this court acknowledge once again the entitlement of testators, in certain circumstances, to make no provision for children: Pontifical Society for the Propagation of the Faith and Saint Charles Seminary, Perth v Scales [1962] HCA 19; (1961) 107 CLR 9. This is particularly so in respect of children who treat their parents callously, by withholding without proper justification, their support and love from them in their declining years. Even more so where that callousness is compounded by hostility.

[72] It is obvious that if the estrangement from the testator is explicable, as was the case in the authorities referred to above, a claimant may still achieve an order for provision under the Act. However there will be cases in which the estrangement is such that a testator is entitled to make no provision for an estranged child. This is one of them. The deceased spent the last 14 years of his life without any assistance from the appellant; without any communication (except the abusive encounter) from the appellant; and without the benefit of the love from a child whom he had nurtured and financially assisted during his formative years.


  1. Although there was no state of hostility between Marion and the deceased there is a sense of a child treating her parent callously by not taking any steps to end their estrangement. The same can be said of her mother's stringent refusal to make any attempt at reconciliation. At least two opportunities occurred when this could have happened. Because of the later aspect I do not think that the plaintiff should be barred from making a claim. But the plaintiff's conduct means that her moral claim on the testator's bounty is reduced.

Marion's needs


  1. It is useful that at this stage to consider how Marion says she has been left without adequate and proper provision for her maintenance, education and advancement in life. I note that Marion seeks a legacy of $250,000. This would enable her to buy a relocatable home at a cost ranging between $139,500 and $215,000. This would allow for contingencies and would supplement her modest income.
  2. The defendants' situation is difficult as plainly if no order is made they would wish to stay in the Hurstville home and Gwendolene would have her savings of $61,000. However, the home is run down and it is difficult for the defendants to maintain their lifestyle in the home. The likely progression of Gwendolene's illness will probably mean that she will need further care that cannot be provided at home. In these circumstances there is every likelihood that the home will need to be sold in the near future.
  3. If the sale of the home is necessary then those funds could be used to secure further accommodation for the defendants. However, because of their determination to stay in the home there is no relevant information before the court as to what would be involved in such a process.

Conclusion


  1. In my view the plaintiff should receive a legacy of $200,000.

Orders


  1. I order that:

1. The plaintiff receives a legacy of $200,000 out of the estate of the deceased.

2. The plaintiff's costs on the ordinary basis and the defendants' costs on the indemnity basis be paid or retained out of the estate of the deceased.

3. Interest is to run on the legacy at the rate provided in the Probate and Administration Act 1898 from three months after the date of these orders.


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