Re Turnbull (dec'd)

The applicant, Kenneth Graham Turnbull, seeks a declaration that an informal document, completed by the deceased, Leslie Owen Turnbull, is his last will. Kenneth, Leslie's brother, is the named executor of the will. The will was completed by Leslie, who was terminally ill, in his own handwriting, but it was not signed by Leslie or the two witnesses present. The will names Kenneth as the executor and trustee of Leslie's estate and provides for gifts to Lee Hornby and Alexander Edmund Denis Turnbull. The estate comprises $147,000 in bank accounts and a property in Lawnton. The legal issues before the court were whether the Court should declare that the informal will is Leslie's last will, and whether probate should be granted to Kenneth. The court found that the application could proceed without an oral hearing, as none of the exclusions in rule 489 of the Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 1999 applied. The court considered that the document was testamentary, and Leslie intended it to operate upon his death as his will. While the will was not signed by Leslie, the court found that Leslie intended to sign it later, and the witnesses signed it in his presence. The court declared the informal will to be Leslie's last will and granted probate to Kenneth, subject to the formal requirements of the Registrar.