Pateman v Pateman (deceased)

The case of Pateman v Pateman (deceased) involved a dispute concerning the appointment of a representative to act on behalf of a deceased defendant in family provision proceedings. The plaintiff sought to have a specific individual appointed to represent the defendant, while the defendant's will nominated another person for this role. The matter was before the court to determine the appropriate representative for the deceased in the context of the ongoing family provision proceedings.

The central legal issue for the court was to decide which party should be appointed as the representative of the deceased defendant. This involved assessing the interests of the plaintiff and the directions provided in the deceased's will. The court had to consider the function of the representative in family provision proceedings and the extent to which the plaintiff had a proper interest in the identity of the person representing the deceased.

The court found that the plaintiff had no proper interest in the identity of the person representing the deceased, as the primary concern in family provision proceedings is the resolution of the dispute rather than the plaintiff's preference for a specific representative. Given that the deceased had nominated a person in their will to represent them, the court concluded that this nominated individual was the appropriate representative. The court held that the function of the representative was to act in accordance with the directions provided in the will, and the plaintiff's lack of interest in the representative's identity did not override the clear nomination made by the deceased.

The court ordered that the person nominated in the will of the deceased be appointed as the representative in the family provision proceedings. This decision underscored the importance of respecting the deceased's wishes as expressed in their will, particularly in the context of family provision disputes.