Estate of the late Shirley Joan Violet Gardner; Bernengo v Leaney

In the matter of the estate of Shirley Joan Violet Gardner, the plaintiff, Bernengo, sought to establish a de facto relationship with the deceased, asserting his entitlement to a share of the estate as a result. The defendant, Leaney, the deceased's executor, contested the claim. The court was required to determine whether the plaintiff and deceased were in a de facto relationship and, if so, whether this relationship entitled the plaintiff to a share of the estate. Additionally, the court had to consider the plaintiff's alternative claim for provision from the estate.

The court examined the criteria for establishing a de facto relationship, focusing on the concept of "a relationship as a couple living together on a genuine domestic basis". The court considered the nature and duration of the relationship, the extent to which the couple shared their lives, and the degree of mutual commitment. The court found that while the plaintiff and deceased shared a close and affectionate relationship, the plaintiff's division of time between the deceased's house and his own country property, where he spent time by himself, did not meet the threshold for a genuine domestic basis. Consequently, the court determined that the plaintiff and deceased were not in a de facto relationship. The court also dismissed the alternative claim for provision from the estate.

The court's decision was that the plaintiff was not in a de facto relationship with the deceased and was not entitled to a share of the estate. The court's ruling upheld the defendant's position and confirmed the executor's entitlement to distribute the estate according to the intestacy laws. The court's decision effectively denied the plaintiff's claims and upheld the integrity of the deceased's estate distribution.