Re Permewan

The case of Re Permewan involved a dispute over the validity of transactions entered into by the deceased, Prudence Veronica Permewan, prior to her death. The deceased had three adult children, and before her death, she had conducted a series of transactions that were seen as commercially insensible, with the admitted intention of stripping the estate of assets and placing them under the control of her son, John Scott Permewan. This was done to frustrate any claim by her daughters, Donna and Marla, for family provision. John Scott Permewan was the sole executor of the will, and probate of the will was granted to him. The daughters sought to have the validity of the inter vivos transactions examined, arguing that any obligation to consider the validity of the transactions conflicted with the interests of the executor. The court had to decide whether it was appropriate to remove the executor and revoke the grant of probate.

The legal issues before the court involved the conflict of interest faced by the executor in considering the validity of the transactions, and whether the executor's refusal to consider challenging the transactions was sufficient grounds for his removal. The court examined the evidence presented, including the fact that the executor had not sought advice on challenging the transactions and had spoken maliciously about the applicants. The court found that it was appropriate to remove the executor and revoke the grant of probate, as the executor was in a hopeless position of conflict and had no intention of pursuing the validity of the transactions.

The court ordered that John Scott Permewan be removed from his position as executor of the estate and that the grant of probate be revoked. Myles Gerard Murphy was appointed as the Administrator of the estate in place of John Scott Permewan, and letters of administration with the will were granted to him. The court also ordered that John Scott Permewan transfer any property of the estate presently in his name into the name of Myles Gerard Murphy, and that Myles Gerard Murphy be registered as the proprietor of any real property of the deceased in Queensland. The costs of the application were reserved.