Christopher John De Lorenzo in his capacity as an executor of the Estate of the late Patricia Ellen De Lorenzo v Vincent Joseph De Lorenzo in his personal capacity and in his capacity as an executor of the Estate..

In the matter of Christopher John De Lorenzo, as executor of the Estate of the late Patricia Ellen De Lorenzo, against Vincent Joseph De Lorenzo in his personal capacity and as executor of the Estate, the court was tasked with interpreting a specific clause in the deceased's will. The crux of the dispute was the construction of a provision in the will which stated that the deceased's shares in three companies were to be given to her children as tenants in common in equal shares. If the shares were not divisible by three, the daughter was to receive more shares than her sons to achieve the intent of equal distribution.

The legal issues before the court centred on how to properly interpret the will's language regarding the division of shares that could not be evenly split among the three beneficiaries. The primary question was whether the impossibility of dividing the shares equally would result in the daughter receiving all of the shares, or whether the shares would be distributed in equal proportions among the beneficiaries.

The court determined that the will should be interpreted to mean that despite the impossibility of an exact equal division, the shares should still be divided among the beneficiaries in equal proportions as tenants in common. The court emphasised the importance of achieving the intent of the will, which was to distribute the shares equally among the beneficiaries. The court held that the daughter should not receive all of the shares, but rather that the shares should be divided as evenly as possible among all three beneficiaries. This interpretation allowed for the will's intent to be honoured without unfairly disadvantaging any of the beneficiaries.

The final orders of the court confirmed that the shares should be divided among the beneficiaries in equal proportions as tenants in common, in accordance with the will's intent. The court's decision ensured that the distribution of the deceased's assets was carried out in line with her wishes, while also maintaining fairness among the beneficiaries.