Where an applicant for family provision has unilaterally abandoned the relationship with the deceased for a prolonged period without proper justification, and compounded that abandonment with hostility, the trial judge is entitled to treat that conduct as decisive against a finding of 'other special circumstances' under s 28(5)(d) of the Family Provision Act 1982 (NSW) and against the exercise of discretion to make provision. This case is distinguishable from estrangement cases where the breakdown was explicable or the deceased bore some blame. The competing views on whether s 11 of the Trustee Act 1925 (NSW) is mandatory for vesting in an executor-beneficiary remain unresolved.
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