Craig-Bridges v NSW Trustee and Guardian

[2017] NSWCA 197

NSW Court of Appeal

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Interrogate

Catchwords

1. Succession
2. › Wills
3. › Testamentary capacity
4. › Banks v Goodfellow test
5. › Understanding extent of property
6. › Comprehending and appreciating claims to which testator ought to give effect
7. › Whether nomination of long-deceased brother as executor displaced presumption of capacity
8. › Whether lay evidence of alertness in ordinary conversation sufficient to discharge onus of proving capacity
9. › Whether simplicity of will probative of capacity
1. Succession
2. › Wills
3. › Testamentary capacity
4. › Evidentiary onus
5. › Shifting onus where doubt raised as to capacity
6. › Whether propounder of will discharged onus
7. › Whether primary judge reversed onus by requiring opponent to prove incapacity
1. Succession
2. › Wills
3. › Knowledge and approval
4. › Whether simplicity of will relevant to knowledge and approval rather than capacity
5. › Whether testatrix knew and approved contents of will
1. Appeal
2. › Standard of appellate review
3. › Real review under s 75A Supreme Court Act 1970 (NSW)
4. › Warren v Coombes principles
5. › Fox v Percy principles
6. › Where appeal turns on inferences from undisputed facts rather than credit-based findings
7. › Whether appellate court should defer to trial judge's evaluative conclusion
8. › Supreme Court Act 1970 (NSW), s 75A

Quick Take

Where a doubt as to testamentary capacity has been raised, the propounder of the will cannot rely on the simplicity or rationality of the will's dispositions to discharge the evidentiary onus of proving capacity, particularly where the will itself contains the error that raised the doubt. Lay evidence that the testator appeared alert and capable in ordinary conversation is insufficient to establish capacity where such witnesses did not discuss financial matters, the testator's estate, or the claims of potential beneficiaries. Both elements of the Banks v Goodfellow test — understanding the extent of the estate and appreciating the claims upon it — must be positively established by the propounder.