Paterson v Vaughn Charles Bunter as Executor of the Will of George Samuel Adolphus Bunter (Dec)

The case involved the plaintiff, Paterson, who sought to claim against the estate of the deceased, George Bunter, who had died intestate. The plaintiff, who had lived with the deceased in a defacto relationship, sought to be recognised as his defacto widow under the Inheritance Act, thereby securing her entitlement to a share of his estate. The executor of the deceased's estate, Vaughn Charles Bunter, contested the plaintiff's claim, arguing that she did not qualify as a defacto widow under the Act and thus had no entitlement to the estate. The case was heard in the Supreme Court of Victoria.

The central legal issues in the case were whether the plaintiff qualified as a defacto widow under section 7(1)(f) of the Inheritance Act, and if so, what entitlement she had to the deceased's estate. The court had to determine whether the relationship between the plaintiff and the deceased met the criteria for a defacto relationship under the Act, and if the plaintiff was entitled to any property from the estate of the deceased. Additionally, the court needed to consider the competing claims from the deceased's children and how these should be balanced against the plaintiff's potential entitlement.

The court held that the relationship between the plaintiff and the deceased met the criteria for a defacto relationship as defined by the Act. The court found that the plaintiff was a defacto widow, and thus entitled to be provided for under the Act. The court further determined that the proper provision for the plaintiff would be a lifetime entitlement to occupy the deceased's house rent-free, as provided by section 6(1) of the Act. The court's decision balanced the plaintiff's entitlement with the rights of the deceased's children, ultimately awarding the plaintiff the lifetime occupancy of the house.

The court's final order was that the plaintiff, Paterson, was entitled to a lifetime occupancy of the deceased's house rent-free. The court did not direct the executor to provide any further financial provision to the plaintiff from the deceased's estate. This outcome recognised the plaintiff's status as a defacto widow and her entitlement to some provision under the Inheritance Act, while also considering the competing claims of the deceased's children.