Estate of Chaddock (Deceased) - [2025] NSWSC 463

Supreme Court

New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: Estate of Chaddock (Deceased) [2025] NSWSC 463
Hearing dates: 8 May 2025
Date of orders: 15 May 2025
Decision date: 15 May 2025
Jurisdiction: Equity
Before: Richmond J
Decision:
See [51]

Catchwords:
SUCCESSION — Construction — Life interest — Respective rights of life tenant and remaindermen
TRUSTS — Construction — Life interest — Trustee’s power to secure alternative residence for beneficiary

Legislation Cited:
Succession Act 2006 (NSW)
Trustee Act 1925 (NSW)
Trustee Amendment (Discretionary Investments) Act 1997 (NSW)
Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 2005 (NSW)

Cases Cited:
De Lorenzo v De Lorenzo (2020) 104 NSWLR 155; [2020] NSWCA 351
Fairbairn v Varvaressos (2010) 78 NSWLR 577; [2010] NSWCA 234
Fell v Fell (1922) 31 CLR 268; [1922] HCA 55
Foskett v McKeown [2001] 1 AC 102
Frith v Cartland (1865) 71 ER 525
Garrett v Yiasemides [2004] NSWSC 828
In the Will of Sherriff [1971] 2 NSWLR 438
Parry v Haisma [2012] NSWSC 290
Perrin v Morgan [1943] AC 399
Public Trustee v O’Donnell [2008] SASC 181
Sinclair v Lee [1993] Ch 497

Texts Cited:
B Edgeworth, Butt’s Land Law (7th ed, 2017, Law Book Co)
GE Dal Pont, Law of Succession (3rd ed, 2021, Lexis Nexis)
JD Heydon and MJ Leeming, Jacob’s Law of Trusts in Australia (8th ed, 2016, Lexis Nexis)
P Herzfeld and T Prince, Interpretation (2nd ed, 2020, Thomson Reuters)

Category: Principal judgment
Parties:
Allan Gregory Porter as trustee of the Estate of the late Dorothy Clara Eastment Chaddock (Plaintiff)
Audrey Florence Chaddock by her tutor Robert Cady (First Defendant)
Beryl Kathleen Donaldson by her tutor Rodney Donaldson (Second Defendant)
Elizabeth Joan Scott (Third Defendant)
Warwick James Laird (Fourth Defendant)
Marilyn Barbara Cady (Fifth Defendant)
Pamela Joy Fail (Sixth Defendant)
Judith Ann Elliott (Seventh Defendant)
Bronya Joan Homan (Eighth Defendant)
Leslie Ralph Johnson (Ninth Defendant)
Representation:
Counsel:
M Pringle (Plaintiff)
Solicitors:
Coleman Greig (Plaintiff)

File Number(s): 2024/00453995
Publication restriction: Nil

JUDGMENT

By a summons filed on 6 December 2024, the plaintiff seeks declaratory relief regarding the proper construction of cll 3(a) and 4 of the last will of Dorothy Chaddock (the deceased) made on 10 July 1981 (the will) who died on 16 March 1996. Clause 3(a) confers on one of the deceased’s daughters, Audrey Chaddock (Audrey), a right to occupy the deceased’s property at 6 Lorraine Place, Merrylands (Merrylands property) and cl 4 confers a power to sell the property in order to provide alternative accommodation for Audrey. What is at issue in these proceedings is the nature of the rights conferred on Audrey by those provisions.
The plaintiff, Allan Porter, is the trustee under the will. Each of the beneficiaries under the will has been joined as a defendant, has been served with the application and has indicated that he or she does not wish to be heard on the application.
The principal relief sought in the summons is as follows:

1. A declaration that on…

Grounds of appeal

[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.

Keep reading for free

Create a free CaseChat account to read Estate of Chaddock (Deceased) and more:

Read every judgment in full
Ask AI and get answers linked to paragraphs
See how each paragraph was cited in later cases
Download judgments as PDF or Word

Continue with Google

One click creates your free account or signs you in.

By continuing you agree to the Terms and Privacy Policy.

Details

Case: [2025] NSWSC 463
Decision Date: 15 May 2025

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The case involved the estate of Chaddock, who passed away leaving behind a complex succession dispute. The parties in the case were the estate of Chaddock, the life tenant, and the remaindermen. The dispute centered on the interpretation of a life interest and the rights of the life tenant and remaindermen. The court had to determine the extent of the trustee's power to secure alternative residence for a beneficiary. The dispute was heard and decided in the Supreme Court of Victoria.

The central legal issues before the court were the construction of the life interest in Chaddock's will and the extent of the trustee's discretion to secure alternative residence for the beneficiary. The court had to interpret the will to ascertain the rights and obligations of the life tenant and the remaindermen. The primary issue was whether the trustee had the power to secure alternative residence for the beneficiary, and if so, what limitations, if any, were imposed on that power.

The court examined the language of the will and relevant precedent to determine the meaning of the life interest. It found that the will granted a life interest to the life tenant, with specific provisions regarding the remaindermen's rights. The court held that the trustee had the power to secure alternative residence for the beneficiary, but this power was subject to certain limitations. The court emphasised the need for the trustee to act in the best interests of the beneficiary and to consider the rights of the remaindermen. The court's decision provided clarity on the respective rights of the life tenant and remaindermen and the scope of the trustee's power to secure alternative residence.

Orders