Re Estate of Frederick Raymond Reeve Perriman (dec)

In the Supreme Court of Western Australia, Dilma Lopez, the applicant, appealed against the decision of a Registrar who dismissed an application to admit a draft will to probate. The deceased, Frederick Raymond Reeve Perriman, had not signed a will before his death, but he had given instructions to a solicitor to prepare a will. The document in question was prepared but not signed or witnessed. The Registrar dismissed the application, finding that the deceased was not aware of the will and could not have intended the document to constitute his will. On appeal, the applicant argued that the deceased intended the document to constitute his will. The Court held that the appeal should be dismissed. The Court found that the deceased had not authenticated or adopted the draft will as his will, and therefore, it could not be admitted to probate. The Court considered the relevant statutory provisions and relevant case law. The Court concluded that the deceased's intention to make a will in the terms of the document drafted by the solicitor did not mean that the deceased intended the draft will lodged for probate, without more, to be the document that constituted his will. The appeal was dismissed.