Kirkman v The Salvation Army (Qld) Property Trust

The parties involved in this case were Mr Kirkman and Mr Bennett, who were appointed as administrators and executors of Mr Spring’s estate, and several charities who were beneficiaries under the will. The dispute centred around the assessment of commission to which the administrators and executors were entitled. The case was heard in the Supreme Court of Queensland. The applicants sought a commission of $32,000 each for their joint administration, plus an additional $60,000 for Mr Kirkman as executor’s commission, amounting to a total of $144,000. However, the beneficiaries contested the accounts, arguing that they could not be understood and needed to be passed before any commission could be determined.

The primary legal issues the court had to address were the appropriate approach to take when assessing the commission to which the administrators and executors were entitled, and whether a registrar should audit the accounts or merely check the accuracy of the vouchers. Furthermore, the court had to determine the appropriate method to "moderate" the costs in the absence of the ability to tax a bill of costs on application by a third party.

The court held that the accounts presented by the applicants were insufficiently detailed and understandable, and therefore could not be relied upon for the assessment of commission. It was determined that a registrar should conduct a thorough examination of the accounts, rather than merely checking the accuracy of the vouchers. The court also established that the costs should be moderated by applying a reasonable percentage to the total costs incurred, as there was no provision for taxing a bill of costs on application by a third party. The applicants were ultimately awarded a commission of $66,000, which was significantly less than the amount they had initially sought.

The court's final orders included that the applicants were entitled to a commission of $66,000, with $32,000 for the joint administration and $34,000 for Mr Kirkman's role as sole executor. The court also ordered that the costs of the examination of the accounts were to be paid by the applicants and that the beneficiaries were to bear the costs of the appeal. The applicants were further ordered to file a further amended account within 28 days of the judgment.