Under s 22A of the Wills Act 1958 (Vic), extrinsic evidence of surrounding circumstances is admissible in all cases to assist in the interpretation of a will, with the sole exception of direct evidence of the testator's dispositive intention. Such evidence may disclose an ambiguity not apparent on the face of the will. Evidence of the solicitor's instructions as to the number and identity of beneficiaries, the testator's family relationships and estrangements, and the testator's habitual use of descriptive terms constitutes admissible evidence of surrounding circumstances, not inadmissible direct evidence of dispositive intention. The expression 'my grandchildren' in a will may be construed as referring to a subset of the testator's actual grandchildren where extrinsic evidence establishes that the testator used the expression in that confined sense.
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