Re Forbes (deceased)

The application in Re Forbes (deceased) was brought by Julie Forbes, who sought a grant of probate in respect of a photocopy of her deceased mother, Shirley Margaret Forbes' will. The original will was held by a law firm, but it could not be located. Julie Forbes argued that the photocopy should be admitted to probate as it represented the deceased's last will. The court had to determine whether the photocopy of the will should be admitted to probate in the absence of the original document. The primary issue was whether a copy of the will should be admitted to probate where the original will was lost or could not be found.

The court considered the circumstances under which the copy of the will was obtained and the legal requirements for admitting a copy of a will to probate. The court held that a copy of a will could be admitted to probate if the applicant could demonstrate that the copy was an accurate reproduction of the original will and that the original will could not be located despite diligent efforts. The court also noted that the circumstances of the case indicated that the copy was likely to be an accurate representation of the original will. The court concluded that the application should be granted, subject to the formal requirements of the Registrar, and ordered that a grant of probate of the photocopy be issued to Julie Forbes. The court also ordered that the applicant’s costs of the application be paid out of the deceased’s estate on the indemnity basis.