Squire v Squire

In *Squire v Squire*, the New South Wales Court of Appeal considered a family provision claim brought by two adult children of the deceased against the respondent, who was the deceased's former spouse. The deceased's will left the entirety of his estate to the respondent. The dispute arose because the deceased and the respondent had separated shortly before the deceased's death, and the deceased had indicated an intention to make a new will. Furthermore, prior to the deceased's death, the parties had contracted to sell a jointly held property and divide the proceeds equally.

The central legal issues before the Court of Appeal were whether the deceased and the respondent had effected a final financial settlement following their separation, and consequently, whether the deceased's share of the sale proceeds, which would be settled after his death, should be treated as notional estate for the purposes of the family provision claim. The court also had to determine whether the deceased's will made adequate provision for the proper maintenance, education, and advancement in life of his two adult children.

The Court of Appeal allowed the appeal, setting aside the orders previously made by Kunc J. The court's reasoning, though not fully detailed in the provided text, focused on the determination of notional estate and the adequacy of provision. The outcome was that the previous orders were overturned, with directions given for the parties to prepare short minutes formulating the new orders, and for written submissions on costs if the parties sought orders different from those implied by the appeal's success.