GALL (DECEASED)

The court was asked to decide whether the 2007 codicil, which was informal, should be admitted to proof and if it impliedly revoked the 2006 codicil, which complied with the formalities of the Wills Act 1936 (SA). The application was brought by David Marshall Gall, the son and executor of the deceased, with the consent of all interested parties. The deceased had executed a formal codicil in 2006 and an informal codicil in 2007. The court had to determine if the informal 2007 codicil could be admitted to proof and if it revoked the formal 2006 codicil.

The court held that the 2007 codicil should be admitted to proof as it expressed the deceased's testamentary intentions and was intended to be a codicil to her last known will. The court found that the evidence supported the inference that the 2007 codicil impliedly revoked the 2006 codicil. Therefore, it was not necessary to admit the 2006 codicil to proof.

The court allowed the application and made the following orders: (1) that the 2007 codicil be admitted to proof as a codicil to the last known will of the deceased dated 11 August 2004; (2) that probate of the last known will of the deceased dated 11 August 2004 and the 2007 codicil be granted to David Marshall Gall, the son of the deceased and the sole executor named in the will; and (3) that the costs incidental to this application and order be paid out of the estate of the deceased.