The Court of Appeal held that the term 'wholly or partly dependent' in s 57(1)(e) of the Succession Act 2006 (NSW) should be given its ordinary English meaning and not a restrictive construction. The Court confirmed that dependency for accommodation is not determined solely by legal ownership of property but requires examination of the whole relationship between the parties. On the facts, the Court found the appellant failed to establish he was partly dependent on the deceased for accommodation where the evidence did not show the deceased encouraged or actively supported his continued residence in the property beyond an initial invitation to stay.
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