Lewis v Watson

The case of Lewis v Watson concerns a dispute over the validity of a handwritten document as an informal will under s 18 of the Succession Act 1981. The applicant, Lewis, contends that the handwritten document is the deceased's informal will, while the respondent, Watson, argues that the deceased's earlier formal will should be upheld. The deceased, Stewart Robb Gray, was a 62-year-old man who died without children and left a formal will dated 22 September 1989. The applicant and the deceased had no familial relationship, but the applicant claims that the deceased had an intention to leave his estate to the applicant's mother. The central legal issues were whether the handwritten document could be admitted as an informal will under s 18 and if the grant of probate for the formal will should be revoked due to a mistake under r 642 of the Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 1999.

The court examined the requirements for admitting a document as an informal will, considering if the document existed, purported to state the deceased's testamentary intentions, and if the deceased intended it to be his last will. The court highlighted the need for clear evidence of the deceased's intention that the document should operate as his will, which must be evaluated under Brigginshaw principles. The applicant's evidence did not sufficiently demonstrate that the deceased intended the handwritten document to be his final will, especially given the existence of a formal will executed two years earlier. The court also considered whether the grant of probate for the formal will should be revoked due to a mistake but found no grounds to do so.

Ultimately, the court dismissed the application, finding that the applicant had not established that the handwritten document satisfied the requirements of an informal will under s 18. The court ordered that the applicant pay the respondent's costs of the application on the standard basis.