Christopherson v Wright; Christopherson v Wright [2024] NSWSC 1144
Hearing dates:
16 – 19 July 2024
Date of orders:
9 September 2024
Decision date:
09 September 2024
Jurisdiction:
Equity
Before:
Pike J
Decision:
(1) Direct the parties to confer and to seek to agree orders to give effect to these reasons, including as to costs.
(2) Direct the parties to provide agreed orders, or competing orders, to my Associate by no later than 19 September 2024.
(3) In the event that there is no agreement as to orders, direct the parties to provide to my Associate by no later than 19 September 2024, any submissions and supporting material, such submissions not to exceed 5 pages, whereupon the remaining issues will be determined on the papers.
Catchwords:
EQUITY – estoppel – equitable proprietary estoppel by encouragement – claim by deceased’s daughter-in-law – whether alleged representations by the deceased promising interest in family homestead were made after plaintiff loaned money to deceased – finding that representations were not made – even if representations had been made, they lacked the requisite degree of precision – no detriment suffered
SUCCESSION – family provision claim – claim by adult children under Succession Act 2006 (NSW) Ch 3 – where partnerships were set up in the family to farm rural properties – where family agreement had been entered into to divide assets following divorce of deceased and former wife
SUCCESSION – family provision claim – where provision for adult child in one proceedings not adequate – where adult child had considerably contributed unpaid time and labour to family partnership – where community expectations would mean a just and wise testator in the position of the deceased would have included adult child in testamentary bounty – finding that further provision should be made
SUCCESSION – family provision claim – approval of release under family agreement – plaintiff enters into family agreement with deceased and family members whereby deceased promises to transfer assets to plaintiff – deceased’s obligations under family agreement were not completely fulfilled and a second agreement was entered into which was also not completely fulfilled – no basis to set aside the release in the family agreement – whether release should be approved under s 95 of the Succession Act 2006 (NSW) – where effluxion of time since family agreement, non-compliance with family agreement, lack of enforcement against other siblings, and disparity of financial position are all factors which weigh against approval being given – approval of release declined
[14] The appellant contends that the primary judge erred in finding that the respondent had discharged the onus of establishing the matters required under the relevant provision.
[15] It was submitted that his Honour failed to give adequate weight to the evidence of the second witness, and that the findings of fact were not reasonably open on the material before the Court.
[16] The respondent, for its part, submits that no error is disclosed, and that the conclusions reached were well within the range of outcomes available to the primary judge.
Consideration
[17] It is convenient to deal first with the question of construction, as the resolution of that issue informs the remaining grounds advanced by the appellant.
[18] For the reasons that follow, we are of the view that the appeal should be allowed in part and the matter remitted for further determination.
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AGLC
Christopherson v Wright; Christopherson v Wright [2024] NSWSC 1144
Case
[2024] NSWSC 1144
Decision Date
CaseChat Overview and Summary
In the case of Christopherson v Wright, the court dealt with two interrelated claims brought by the plaintiff, who was the deceased's daughter-in-law, against the estate of the deceased. The first claim pertained to equitable proprietary estoppel by encouragement, arguing that the deceased had promised her an interest in the family homestead after she loaned money to him. The second claim was a family provision claim under the Succession Act 2006 (NSW), seeking further provision from the estate as the deceased had not made adequate provision for her despite her significant contributions to the family partnership.
The central legal issues before the court were whether the deceased had made the alleged representations regarding the family homestead and if so, whether these representations were precise enough to support an estoppel claim. Additionally, the court had to determine if the deceased's provision for the plaintiff was adequate under the Succession Act, particularly considering her substantial contributions to the family farming business and the expectations that would arise in the community.
The court found that the deceased had not made the representations that the plaintiff claimed were made. Even if such representations had been made, they did not meet the necessary degree of precision required for an equitable estoppel. As for the family provision claim, the court recognised that the plaintiff had made considerable contributions to the family partnership and that it would be just and wise for a testator in the deceased's position to provide for her. However, the court concluded that the existing provision was adequate and declined to make further provision. Regarding the family agreement, the court found that there was no basis to set aside the release of claims as stipulated in the agreement, and it declined to approve the release due to factors such as the passage of time, non-compliance with the agreement, lack of enforcement against other siblings, and the disparity of financial positions among the parties.
The court ultimately declined to approve the release under the Succession Act and did not make any further provision to the plaintiff.