Daley v Donaldson

Daley v Donaldson concerned an application for a family provision order by the biological son of the deceased, brought under the Succession Act 2006 (NSW). The parties had reached a compromise following mediation, but the executrix of the deceased's estate opposed the court making orders to give effect to this settlement. The primary judge declined to make the orders, leading to the present appeal.

The central legal issues before the Court of Appeal were whether a formal adoption order, made after the applicant's birth, caused him to no longer be considered a "child" of the deceased for the purposes of the Succession Act 2006 (NSW), and whether the executrix's subsequent belief about this adoption warranted the primary judge declining to enforce the settlement. The court also considered whether a mistake as to the basis of the settlement justified refusing to make the orders.

The Court of Appeal held that the adoption order did not cause the applicant to cease being a child of the deceased within the meaning of the Act, particularly as the executrix had been aware of the possibility of adoption. The court reasoned that the executrix's belief, even if mistaken, did not provide a sufficient basis to decline to make orders giving effect to the compromise. The appeal was dismissed.