Estate of George Aeneas McDonald; Howard v The Sydney Children's Hospital Network (Randwick & Westmead)

In this case, the dispute involved the estate of George Aeneas McDonald. The Sydney Children's Hospital Network sought to challenge the validity of a will propounded by Howard, who was named as the executor of the will. The will significantly departed from prior testamentary dispositions and involved suspicious circumstances, including that the will was prepared by Howard, who was also the husband of the person taking the residue of the estate. The court was required to determine whether Howard, as the person propounding the will, needed to prove that the testator had regard to claims on their testamentary bounty and that they had considered their prior testamentary dispositions.

The legal issues before the court were whether the person propounding a will must prove that the testator in fact had regard to claims on their testamentary bounty, and whether they must prove that the testator had considered their prior testamentary dispositions. The court considered the principles of knowledge and approval of the will, and whether these principles required proof of the testator's actual consideration of claims on their bounty or prior dispositions.

The court held that, at least where there is no evidence of a failing mind, knowledge and approval of the will does not require proof that the testator actually considered claims on their bounty or that they actually considered their prior testamentary dispositions. The court found that the onus was on the challenger to prove that the testator lacked the necessary knowledge and approval of the will. In this case, the court found that there was no evidence to suggest that the testator lacked knowledge and approval of the will, and therefore granted probate of the will. The court also noted that the will was not invalid simply because it involved a significant departure from prior testamentary dispositions. The court found that the will was valid and granted probate to Howard as the executor.