Blendell v Byrne

The case of Blendell v Byrne was heard in the Supreme Court of New South Wales. The dispute centred on the validity of a last Will made by the deceased in 2015, as well as a claim for a family provision order by her four adult children. The court was required to determine whether the deceased had the necessary knowledge and approval of the contents of the 2015 Will, considering the allegations of undue influence by her husband, who was the executor named in the Will. The court also had to consider if equity principles might apply to subject property passing under the Will to a constructive trust in favour of beneficiaries of an earlier Will, and whether the deceased had made adequate and proper provision for her children in the 2015 Will.

The court examined the suspicious circumstances rule and whether the deceased was coerced by her husband into making the 2015 Will, which left her entire estate to him. The court also considered the operation and potential interaction of undue influence in both probate and equity, and whether equity might extend its principles to attack a grant of probate itself. Additionally, the court assessed the claim for family provision orders by the children, taking into account the nature and quantum of provision that ought to be made for each of them. Two of the children settled their disputes with the deceased's husband before or during the hearing.

The court found that the deceased had the necessary knowledge and approval of the contents of the 2015 Will and dismissed the claims of undue influence by her husband. The court also determined that equity principles did not apply to attack a grant of probate itself. In relation to the family provision claims, the court found that the deceased had made adequate and proper provision for her children in the 2015 Will. Consequently, the court dismissed the claims for family provision orders by the remaining two children. The court further ordered that all proceedings be heard consecutively, with the evidence in one being evidence in the other, in accordance with the Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 2005 (NSW) rule 28.5.