Application for leave to bring application for provision out of time pursuant to s 7(2)(b) of the Family Provision Act 1972 (WA)
Whether applicant has standing to bring an application for provision as de facto partner of deceased
Quick Take
1A delay of approximately three and a half years in filing a family provision application, while significant and weighing against the grant of leave, is not determinative where the justice of the case as a whole favours the applicant, including where the applicant has an arguable case on the merits and there is no evidence of inequity to beneficiaries from the distributed estate.
2For the purpose of an application for leave to file out of time, it is sufficient for an applicant claiming de facto partner status to demonstrate an arguable case that they were living as the deceased's de facto partner at a time sufficiently close to the deceased's death; final determination of that status is reserved for the substantive application.
