Application of Roberts

The Application of Roberts involved the administration of an intestate estate where one of the beneficiaries had been missing since 1979. The missing person's family had made extensive efforts to locate them, including through a coronial inquest which concluded that the person was likely deceased. Despite these efforts, there was no definitive evidence as to whether the missing person was alive or dead, although a death certificate had been issued by the coroner. The court was tasked with deciding whether the administrator of the estate should distribute the missing beneficiary's share of the estate on the assumption that they were deceased.

The central legal issue before the court was whether the administrator of the estate should be released from their obligation to hold the missing beneficiary's share of the estate pending further evidence of their status. The court needed to consider the balance between the potential for the missing beneficiary to reappear alive and the administrative difficulties and delays caused by holding their share of the estate. The court also had to determine the appropriate course of action for the distribution of the missing beneficiary's share of the estate if it was decided that the administrator could proceed with distribution.

The court found that the Administrator should be released from their undertaking to hold the missing beneficiary's share of the estate. The court was satisfied that there was no reasonable possibility that the missing beneficiary was alive, given the extensive searches and lack of contact with individuals who would likely have communicated with the missing person. The court concluded that it was in the best interests of the estate and its other beneficiaries for the administrator to distribute the missing beneficiary's share to their surviving issue. The court made an order that the administrator be released from her obligation to hold the missing beneficiary's share of the estate and that the costs of the proceedings, calculated on an indemnity basis, be paid or retained from the estate as appropriate.