Estate of Halas Halas v NSW Trustee and Guardian

The application before the court was brought by Estate of Halas Halas, seeking a declaration that an informal document constituted the will of the deceased, Halas Halas. The deceased's son was not identified in the document, but his existence was acknowledged. The son's whereabouts were unknown, and the applicant sought an order dispensing with the requirement to notify the son of the application for a grant in relation to the estate. The court was required to decide whether the informal document could be accepted as the deceased's will and whether the requirement to serve notice on the son could be dispensed with.

The court found that the informal document clearly embodied the deceased's testamentary intentions. The document was in the deceased's handwriting and it was evident that the deceased intended it to be their will. The court concluded that the document satisfied the requirements of section 18A of the Wills, Probate and Administration Act 1898 (NSW), which allows for the acceptance of informal wills. Regarding the requirement to serve notice on the son, the court found that there was no evidence as to where the son might be living if he was born and still alive. The court considered that dispensing with the requirement for notice would not preclude any such person from seeking to require the sole beneficiary to account for the estate distributed to her.

The court granted the applicant's request for a declaration that the informal document constituted the will of the deceased. The court also granted the order dispensing with the requirement to serve notice on the son, finding that the son's whereabouts were unknown and there was no evidence as to where he might be living. The court emphasised that this order did not preclude the son, if he existed, from seeking to require the sole beneficiary to account for the estate distributed to her.