Sergent v Glass (No 2)

In the case of Sergent v Glass (No 2), the two children of the deceased, who had died intestate, sought to challenge the entitlement of their stepmother to the entirety of the estate. The deceased had been married to the stepmother for a brief period, during which they were separated for several years prior to the deceased’s death. The stepmother had relocated overseas and could not be located. The court appointed a solicitor as administrator ad litem for the widow and made orders for service of documents by electronic means. Despite numerous attempts to communicate with the widow, she did not respond to emails or Facebook messages and was otherwise non-responsive.

The primary legal issue was whether orders should be made in favour of the two children, effectively transferring the entire estate to them rather than to the widow. The court had to consider the Family Provision Act and the circumstances of the marriage, separation, and death of the deceased. The court also had to assess the implications of the widow’s non-responsiveness and the agreement in principle reached between the parties during the judicial settlement conference.

The court found that the marriage was of short duration and that the deceased and the widow had been separated for a significant period before his death. The court considered the stepmother’s non-responsiveness to be an implicit acknowledgment that she had no interest in the estate. Given the agreement in principle reached by the parties and the circumstances of the marriage and separation, the court concluded that the estate should be divided between the two children. The court made orders transferring the entire estate to the children, effectively disinheriting the widow.