In the Will of

The deceased, William Lewis, executed a formal will in May 2000, which was prepared by his solicitors. Subsequently, in September 2000, Mr Lewis drafted a handwritten will in which he altered the executor of his estate. Mr Lewis passed away in October 2000. The matter before the court was whether the handwritten will Mr Lewis created in September 2000 revoked his previous will, and if so, whether the alterations made in the handwritten will were effective. The case was heard in the Supreme Court of Queensland.

The central legal issue was whether Mr Lewis’s handwritten will, which began with the words "a Tempery Will of my Estate," was an effective revocation of all prior wills. Additionally, the court had to determine if the interlineations and highlighting in the handwritten will were sufficient to alter the original terms. The relevant provisions under the Succession Act 1981 (Qld) were sections 20(1) and 12, which address the revocation of wills and alterations, respectively.

The court found that the handwritten will of 1 September 2000 constituted an effective revocation of all previous wills, as it was clear and unambiguous in its intent to replace prior testamentary documents. The handwritten will, which was both original and carbon copy, included interlineations and highlighting, but these were not sufficient to alter the overall testamentary intent. The court held that the handwritten will stood as a valid revocation and as an effective testamentary instrument in its own right.

The court made two key orders. Firstly, it declared that Mr Lewis’s handwritten testamentary document dated 1 September 2000 revoked all previous wills. Secondly, it ordered that the costs associated with the application be assessed on an indemnity basis and paid out of the estate.