In a recent case, a husband made a claim against the estate of his deceased wife. The estate was valued at $17.4 million. The wife left the husband $1 million in her will. The wife’s children received the balance. The wife and husband were married for 25 years. The wife in her will directed that a property in Bringelly worth $4.15 million was to be sold. $1 million from the sale was to be put into a trust fund for the husband. Some of the $1 million was to be used to buy a property for the husband. The balance would be used to maintain and advance his life. Usually, in these sorts of claims, the husband would need to show financial need before the Court would order that he receive more from the estate. But this was a large estate and the husband’s need was not as important. The husband claimed that $1 million was not enough.
It was argued against the husband that $1 million is a large sum of money. The husband claimed that the amount of money he receives should allow him to maintain and advance his life. The husband wanted to maintain his current quality of life. The husband claimed that $1 million was not enough to do so.
It was argued against the husband that his lifestyle was expensive, and he often spent money on unnecessary things.
The husband claimed that before his wife died, they had renovated the Bringelly property together. The husband had contributed $465,000 to renovations which helped increase the sale price. He claimed the property would only sell for $2.65 million without the renovations. The husband asked the court to recognise his contribution.
The court examined the wife’s previous wills. The wife had previously left the husband a larger amount in her previous two wills.
The court accepted the husband’s submissions. He was reliable and gave honest and straightforward evidence. The court noted there was a significant reduction in the money left for the husband compared to previous wills. The court found that the money the husband had contributed for renovations significantly increased the Bringelly property’s sale price. The court awarded the husband $2.5 million and ordered his legal fees to be paid by the estate.
