A draft will prepared by a solicitor on the deceased's instructions cannot be admitted to probate under s 34 of the Wills Act 1970 (WA) where the deceased never saw, read, or otherwise adopted or authenticated the document, even where the Court is satisfied the deceased intended to make a will in those terms and would have signed it. The dispensation power requires evidence that the deceased, by some act or words, demonstrated an intention that the specific document should, without more, operate as his or her will.
The full text is available to signed-in members, including the 17 later cases that cite this judgment.
7 of the 17 citing cases carry a classified treatment. How each court treated it is available to signed-in members.