Kobras v Lutheran Church of Australia Incorporated

Kobras was the beneficiary of a will under which the testator left her estate to two churches. The will was written in German, and a translation was attached to the letters of administration. The Lutheran Church of Australia was one of the beneficiaries, and Kobras sought a declaration that the will was invalid, that the estate should be distributed according to the intestacy rules, and that the Lutheran Church should return the estate to her. The Lutheran Church sought a declaration that the will was valid and that it was entitled to the estate under the terms of the will. The dispute centred on the true construction of the will. The original German version of the will referred to the estate being applied "along the lines of a trust/foundation". However, the translation provided in English only referred to a "foundation". Kobras argued that the estate was intended to be held on trust, while the Lutheran Church argued that the estate was to be held outright.

The court held that it could look to the original German version of the will to ascertain the meaning and intent of the testator. The court found that the true construction of the will meant that the estate was to pass as an outright gift to the Lutheran Church. The court held that the testator's intention was to make a gift of the estate, and that the Lutheran Church was entitled to the estate under the terms of the will. The court rejected Kobras' argument that the will was invalid, and dismissed her claims in their entirety. The Lutheran Church was entitled to the estate under the terms of the will, and Kobras' claims were dismissed with costs.