› Discussion of appropriate method for describing landholding
› The appropriate method will depend upon various factors including context
› Generally use of the words “more particularly described (as)” followed by a distinct title reference, is a useful and appropriate drafting technique to remove doubt about what land is precisely the subject of a gift
Succession
› Wills
› Rectification
› Whether always necessary to construe document first
› Discussion of rectification principles
› Consideration of requirements of ‘clerical error’
› Consideration of conjunction ‘because’ in s 27(1) Succession Act 2006 (NSW)
Evidence
› Presentation of evidence regarding complex landholdings
› Forensic assistance to the Court, and to witnesses, of having a large map version of the deceased’s landholdings to identify the disputed landholding by reference to a single document, so that the evidence of the many witnesses could be comparable and comprehensible by reference to a fixed or standard reference point
› Practitioners commended for thoughtful presentation of maps
Evidence
› Assessment of evidence of witnesses where estoppel claims based on some conversations in the decade prior to the deceased’s death and some many decades ago
› Assessment of evidence of professionals engaged by the deceased including evidence of a solicitor regarding instructions for a will made over a decade prior to the deceased’s death where the solicitor’s electronic file is lost
Case Details
Citation[2024] NSWSC 134
CourtNSWSC
JurisdictionNew South Wales
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