Re Goward

This case involved an application by Dawn Elizabeth Webb, the granddaughter of the deceased, Anne Elizabeth Goward, for the court to determine the validity of a will executed in error. The deceased and Dawn had attended a solicitor's office to execute their respective wills on 6 April 1990, but mistakenly signed each other's will. The issue before the court was whether the will prepared for Anne Elizabeth Goward, and signed by Dawn Elizabeth Webb, was executed in substantial compliance with the formalities described in s.9 of the Succession Act 1981, and if it expressed the testamentary intention of Anne Elizabeth Goward.

The court considered the legal requirements for a valid will under s.9 of the Succession Act 1981, which states that a will shall not be valid unless it is in writing, signed by the testator, and witnessed by two or more witnesses. The court also considered s.10 of the Act, which provides that the validity of a will is not affected by the location of the testator's signature on the document. The court found that while the will did express Anne Elizabeth Goward's testamentary intention, the absence of her signature on the document meant that it could not be admitted to probate.

The court agreed with the approach taken in In the Will of F.D. Thomson, where it was held that a signature or other mark of the testator on the document is a fundamental requirement for a valid will. The court also noted that the more recent trend in the case law has been to place greater emphasis on whether the document expresses the testamentary intention of the deceased, but this alone is not decisive. The court concluded that the document in question could not be admitted to probate as it did not meet the statutory requirements for a valid will.

The court's decision was based on the specific terms of the Queensland legislation and the authorities considered did not cause the court to doubt the approach which should be followed under the Queensland legislation. The court refused to pronounce for the force and validity of the will of Anne Elizabeth Goward dated 6 April 1990.