Napper v Miller

In the matter of Napper v Miller, the High Court of Australia was tasked with interpreting the terms of a will left by the deceased, Miller. The dispute centred on the distribution of Miller's estate among her grandchildren, specifically whether the grandchildren who were born after the execution of the will, known as postnates, could inherit under the terms of the will. The executor of the will, Napper, argued that the postnates were not entitled to inherit as they did not "survive" the testatrix, while Miller's heirs contended that the postnates should receive their share as they were alive at the time of the testatrix's death.

The primary legal issue before the court was the interpretation of the phrase "survive" in the context of Miller's will. The court was required to determine whether this term, as used in the will, encompassed the situation where grandchildren were born after the execution of the will but before the testatrix's death. The court had to consider the ordinary meaning of the term "survive" and whether the intention of the testatrix could be ascertained from the will to include postnates in the distribution of her estate.

The court held that the term "survive" in the context of Miller's will should be interpreted in its ordinary sense, meaning that the beneficiaries must be alive at the time of the testatrix's death. The court found that the testatrix's intention could not be reasonably inferred to include postnates, as there was no clear evidence in the will to suggest that the testatrix intended to disinherit her biological grandchildren. Consequently, the court ruled that the postnates were not entitled to inherit under the terms of the will. The court's decision was based on the principle that the intention of the testator must be given effect to, but only to the extent that it can be ascertained from the will and is not contrary to public policy.

The final orders of the court were that the grandchildren born before the testatrix's death were to receive their respective shares of the estate as per the terms of the will. The postnates were not entitled to any inheritance under the will, and the estate was to be distributed accordingly. The court's decision in this case provides clarity on the interpretation of the term "survive" in the context of wills and the importance of ascertaining the intention of the testator from the will itself.