Carr v Homersham

(2018) 97 NSWLR 328; [2018] NSWCA 65

NSW Court of Appeal

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Interrogate

Catchwords

1. Succession
2. › Wills
3. › Testamentary capacity
4. › False beliefs held by testator
5. › Whether material false belief constitutes insane delusion
6. › Whether mere mistaken belief sufficient to negate testamentary capacity
7. › Banks v Goodfellow (1870) LR 5 QB 549
1. Succession
2. › Wills
3. › Testamentary capacity
4. › Meaning and language of 'insane delusion'
5. › Whether belief must be fixed and incorrigible
6. › Whether testator could be reasoned out of belief
7. › Distinction between mistaken belief and delusion indicative of mental disorder
1. Succession
2. › Wills
3. › Testamentary capacity
4. › Onus of proof
5. › Propounder bears onus of establishing testamentary capacity
6. › Effect of doubt as to capacity
7. › Whether residual doubt sufficient to defeat claim for probate
1. Succession
2. › Wills
3. › Testamentary capacity
4. › Dementia
5. › Whether dementia necessarily negates testamentary capacity
6. › Relevance of cognitive decline to capacity to comprehend claims on bounty

Quick Take

A material false belief held by a testator, even one that influenced the dispositions in the will, does not of itself establish lack of testamentary capacity; there must be evidence of a high degree of irrationality in the belief and ordinarily evidence that the testator could not be reasoned out of it, such that the belief indicates a mental disorder precluding comprehension of claims on the testator's bounty.