Hall and Hall and Anor

This matter concerned a dispute between the parties, identified as Hall and Hall and Anor, heard by Dawe J. The core of the dispute involved a claim for privilege in relation to certain documents, specifically items 7 and 8 of a subpoena filed on 9 September 2015.

The legal issue before the court was whether the claim for privilege over the documents was valid, particularly in circumstances where the deceased had consulted a solicitor for the purpose of preparing a will. The husband's counsel argued that the mere fact of consultation for will preparation did not automatically establish privilege, referencing the decision in *Kelly v Deluchi*.

Dawe J considered the context of the *Kelly v Deluchi* decision, which involved family provision claims. His Honour noted that the applicant in *Kelly v Deluchi* had not provided evidence that the solicitor's notes recorded confidential legal advice or that their disclosure would reveal such advice. Furthermore, Dawe J highlighted that under section 54 of the relevant Act, a will, including revoked wills and copies, must be made available for inspection by certain categories of persons, such as beneficiaries or issue. In relation to notes of instructions for a will, if these simply recorded the deceased's instructions which were subsequently reflected in the executed will, and did not record any legal advice given, then such instructions were not considered to remain confidential.

Consequently, compliance with items 7 and 8 of the subpoena was not required, indicating that the claim for privilege was not upheld in respect of those specific documents.