SUPREME COURT OF QUEENSLAND
CITATION:
Sullivan v Sullivan [2025] QSC 20
PARTIES:
TERRENCE SULLIVAN
(applicant)
v
HOLLY ANNE SULLIVAN(first respondent)
AND
HOLLY ANNE SULLIVAN AS EXECUTOR OF THE ESTATE OF THE LATE JACALYN JAY SULLIVAN
(second respondent)
AND
TODD JAY SULLIVAN
(third respondent)FILE NO:
11176 of 2024
DIVISION:
Trial Division
PROCEEDING:
Application
ORIGINATING COURT:
Supreme Court at Brisbane
DELIVERED ON:
14 February 2025
DELIVERED AT:
Brisbane
HEARING DATE:
18 December 2024
JUDGE:
Davis J
ORDERS:
1. Pursuant to r 69 of the Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 1999, Holly Anne Sullivan in her personal capacity is substituted as the first respondent in lieu of “Holly Anne Sullivan as executor of the estate of the late Todd Paul Sullivan”.
2. The second respondent is to bring the original Grant into the Brisbane Registry of the Court by 4 pm on Monday, 24 February 2025.
3. A copy of this Order be placed on Probate File BS 7419/24.
4. Until further order, Prudence Poole (Administrator), solicitor, be appointed administrator of:
(a) the estate of Jacalyn Jay Sullivan (deceased); and
(b) the estate of Todd Paul Sullivan (deceased);
(the Estates), for the purposes of:
(i) to bring in and secure all estate assets;
(ii) to prepare the property of the estate of Jacalyn Jay Sullivan at Mount Nathan for sale;
(iii) to sell the property at Mount Nathan;
(iv) to sell all other estate assets, except the jewellery of Jacalyn Jay Sullivan;
(v) to pay all debts of the estate; and
(vi) to prepare accounts of the two estates.
5. For the purposes prescribed in Order 4, the Administrator shall have all the powers of the personal representative under the Succession Act 1981 (Qld) (the Succession Act) and the Trusts Act 1973 (Qld) and at common law, except that no distributions from the Estates can be made without the consent of all parties, or further order of the Court.
6. All the assets comprising the Estates shall vest in the Administrator and the title to any real property in the name of either deceased vest in the Administrator.
7. Within fourteen (14) days of the date of the Order, the applicant and the first and second respondents shall deliver to the Administrator all documentation and information which is in their possession or control relating to the Estates, and the balance of any estate bank account or other estate funds.
8. Pursuant to s 68 of the Succession Act and s 101 of the Trusts Act 1973, the Court fixes the remuneration of the Administrator for the Estates with such remuneration for professional and non-professional work to be assessed by an independent cost assessor, pursuant to the Supreme Court scale, as varied from time to time on the indemnity basis, at approximately three-monthly intervals and on completion of her administration.
9. The Administrator is authorised to engage her employers from time to time as her solicitors with their professional costs and outlays to be assessed by an independent cost assessor,…
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- AGLC
- Sullivan v Sullivan [2025] QSC 20
- Case
- [2025] QSC 20
- Decision Date
CaseChat Overview and Summary
The court examined the circumstances surrounding the execution of the 2023 will, considering the absence of legal counsel and the testimonies of the witnesses. The court held that there was sufficient evidence to suggest that Todd lacked testamentary capacity at the time of execution. The court found that the witnesses' accounts of Todd's confused and vague state during the execution of the will were credible, and that Todd did not understand or adopt the terms of the 2023 will. As a result, the court declared the 2023 will invalid. The executor was ordered to bring the original grant of probate into the registry, and a triable issue as to the invalidity of the will was found to exist.
In light of the invalidity of the 2023 will, the court made several orders to manage the administration of Todd's estate. Holly Anne Sullivan was substituted as the first respondent, and the executor was ordered to bring the original grant of probate into the Brisbane Registry. Prudence Poole was appointed as the administrator of both Todd's and his mother's estates, with specific powers to manage and sell the estate assets. The court also fixed the remuneration for the administrator and authorised her to engage her employers as solicitors for the administration of the estates. The court ordered that all costs of the proceedings were to be paid out of the estate on an indemnity basis, reserving the question of who ultimately bears the costs.
In conclusion, the court invalidated the 2023 will due to Todd's lack of testamentary capacity at the time of execution, appointed an administrator to manage the estates, and ordered the executor to bring the original grant of probate into the registry. The court's decision ensures that the estates are properly administered while the question of who bears the costs of the proceedings remains open.
Orders
Orders of the court
1. Pursuant to r 69 of the Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 1999, Holly Anne Sullivan in her personal capacity is substituted as the first respondent in lieu of “Holly Anne Sullivan as executor of the estate of the late Todd Paul Sullivan”.
2. The second respondent is to bring the original Grant into the Brisbane Registry of the Court by 4 pm on Monday, 24 February 2025.
3. A copy of this Order be placed on Probate File BS 7419/24.
4. Until further order, Prudence Poole (Administrator), solicitor, be appointed administrator of:
(a) the estate of Jacalyn Jay Sullivan (deceased); and
(b) the estate of Todd Paul Sullivan (deceased);
(the Estates), for the purposes of:
(i) to bring in and secure all estate assets;
(ii) to prepare the property of the estate of Jacalyn Jay Sullivan at Mount Nathan for sale;
(iii) to sell the property at Mount Nathan;
(iv) to sell all other estate assets, except the jewellery of Jacalyn Jay Sullivan;
(v) to pay all debts of the estate; and
(vi) to prepare accounts of the two estates.
5. For the purposes prescribed in Order 4, the Administrator shall have all the powers of the personal representative under the Succession Act 1981 (Qld) (the Succession Act) and the Trusts Act 1973 (Qld) and at common law, except that no distributions from the Estates can be made without the consent of all parties, or further order of the Court.
6. All the assets comprising the Estates shall vest in the Administrator and the title to any real property in the name of either deceased vest in the Administrator.
7. Within fourteen (14) days of the date of the Order, the applicant and the first and second respondents shall deliver to the Administrator all documentation and information which is in their possession or control relating to the Estates, and the balance of any estate bank account or other estate funds.
8. Pursuant to s 68 of the Succession Act and s 101 of the Trusts Act 1973, the Court fixes the remuneration of the Administrator for the Estates with such remuneration for professional and non-professional work to be assessed by an independent cost assessor, pursuant to the Supreme Court scale, as varied from time to time on the indemnity basis, at approximately three-monthly intervals and on completion of her administration.
9. The Administrator is authorised to engage her employers from time to time as her solicitors with their professional costs and outlays to be assessed by an independent cost assessor, pursuant to the Supreme Court scale, as varied from time to time on the indemnity basis, at approximately three-monthly intervals and on completion of her administration.
10. All fees assessed are not payable to the Administrator personally, but to the firm of which the Administrator is a director.
11. The Administrator has liberty to apply for directions in relation to the administration of the estate.
12. The applicant’s costs of the proceedings to date be paid out of the estate on the indemnity basis in the first instance. The question as to who ultimately bears the costs of the proceedings is reserved.
Background
Background to the litigation
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Evidence
Evidence Before The Court
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Decision
Reasons for decision
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Ratio Decidendi
Legal Principle Established
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