Blanket v Blanket

The case of Blanket v Blanket involved a dispute over the construction of a deceased's will. The deceased left a will which included provisions to make up any inequality between gifts to his daughters. However, there was no fund available to make up this difference, leading to a dispute between the daughters over the interpretation of the will's provisions. The matter was heard in the Supreme Court of Victoria.

The central legal issue was whether the provision to make up the inequality between the gifts to the daughters was a conditional gift, contingent upon the availability of a fund to do so. If the provision was conditional, the daughters would receive their gifts as per the will without any adjustment. Alternatively, if the provision was absolute, the daughters would be entitled to an equal distribution of the estate. The court had to determine the correct interpretation of the will's language and whether the condition was implied or explicit.

The court found that the provision in the will was an absolute gift, not dependent on the availability of a fund. The language of the will did not include any condition that the inequality must be made up, and there was no evidence to suggest that such a condition was implied. The court held that the daughters were entitled to receive their gifts as per the will, without any adjustment to equalise their distributions. The court's decision was based on the clear and unambiguous language of the will, which did not include any condition that the inequality must be made up. The court also noted that if the deceased had intended a conditional gift, he could have easily included such a condition in the will.

The court ordered that the daughters receive their gifts as per the will, without any adjustment to equalise their distributions. The court also noted that the executors of the estate were not liable for any costs arising from the dispute, as they had acted in good faith and without negligence. The decision in this case highlights the importance of clear and unambiguous language in drafting wills, and the potential consequences of ambiguous provisions.