Re Banning; Ex Parte Banning

The matter Re Banning; Ex Parte Banning concerns an application for the revocation of a grant of probate in the Supreme Court of Western Australia. The applicant, Mrs Banning, seeks the revocation of the grant of probate issued to Donald Campbell-Smith, who was named as the executor in the will of the deceased, Mr Banning. The application arises due to Mr Campbell-Smith's incapacity, diagnosed as fronto-temporal dementia, and his subsequent passing away before the application could be fully resolved. The central legal issues before the court involved the court's inherent jurisdiction to revoke a grant of probate and the subsequent appointment of a new administrator for the estate. The court was required to consider whether the executor's incapacity justified the revocation of the grant of probate and whether an administrator should be appointed in light of the ongoing litigation and need to finalize the estate.

The court found that the executor's incapacity, as confirmed by medical diagnosis and subsequent events, justified the revocation of the grant of probate. Despite Mr Campbell-Smith's passing away, the court proceeded to determine the application as the estate still needed to be administered. The court relied on its inherent jurisdiction and statutory authority under the Supreme Court Act 1935 (WA) to grant or revoke probate. Mrs Campbell-Smith, as named executor in Mr Campbell-Smith's will, would have become the executor of both estates upon becoming executor of his will. However, she had not sought a grant of probate for Mr Campbell-Smith's estate and did not wish to administer Mr Banning's estate. Consequently, the court concluded that the grant of probate to Mr Campbell-Smith should be revoked and an administrator appointed to finalize the deceased estate.

The court ordered the revocation of the grant of probate issued to Donald Campbell-Smith and the appointment of an administrator to manage the estate of Mr Banning. The decision underscores the importance of the court's ability to intervene in probate matters to ensure that estates are properly administered, especially in cases where executors become incapacitated or pass away before estate matters are concluded.