Gunn v Stenders

Gunn v Stenders involved a dispute over the interpretation and administration of the will of Karlis Herbert Stenders, who died in 1995. Ms Gunn, the daughter of the deceased's wife Denisa Stenders from a previous marriage, was appointed administrator of both her mother's and the deceased's estates. The deceased and Mrs Stenders had one child together, Paulis Stenders, who was a minor at the time of his father's death. The central issue was the construction of a testamentary gift of the residuary estate to Mrs Stenders and Paulis Stenders as joint tenants, and whether the directions in the will and the power of advancement indicated an intention for the gift to be held as tenants in common instead.

The court held that the direction to hold Paulis's interest in trust until he attained the age of 25 and the power of advancement suggested that the gift was not intended to be held as joint tenants. The court reasoned that the power of advancement allowed the trustees to make distributions to Paulis before he attained the age of 25, which would not be possible if the interest was held as joint tenants. Therefore, the gift should be construed as a gift to be held as tenants in common in equal shares. The court also ruled that the distribution of proceeds from the sale of one of the lots to Paulis was a final distribution of his entitlement under the will, and that the land at 34 Tavistock Street, Oxley, which Mrs Stenders had used to build her home, was vested in equity in her as a beneficiary of the estate.

The final orders of the court were that the gift of the residuary estate should be construed as a gift to Denisa Stenders and Paulis Stenders as tenants in common in equal shares, that the distribution of proceeds from the sale of Lot 81 to Paulis was a final distribution, and that the land at 34 Tavistock Street, Oxley, was vested in equity in Denisa Stenders as a beneficiary of the estate of Karlis Herbert Stenders.