Sykes v Sykes

In Sykes v Sykes, the deceased, Kathleen Sylvia Sykes, died on 30 August 2006, leaving behind a will dated 7 December 2001 and a codicil dated 5 March 2006. The will appointed Geoffrey George Sykes and Judith Ann Sykes as executors and provided for the division of the estate equally among the deceased's seven children, with Geoffrey having the right to reside in the deceased's house until a specified vesting date. The codicil, drafted by Geoffrey, attempted to amend the will by revoking all earlier wills and testamentary dispositions, granting Geoffrey absolute ownership of the deceased's house, furniture, and effects, and requiring him to remunerate the other six siblings $30,000 each within two years of the deceased's death. Clause 5 of the codicil directed that all other documentation, except for the vesting period, should remain as stated in the original will.

The legal issues before the court were whether the codicil should be rectified by omitting clause 1, the revocation clause, to accurately reflect the deceased's intentions, and whether the codicil should be admitted to probate. The court considered section 25AA of the Wills Act 1936 (SA), which allows the court to rectify a will if it does not accurately reflect the deceased's testamentary intentions. The court also had to determine whether the codicil was validly executed, given that the witnesses printed their names rather than signing them.

The court found that the codicil did not accurately reflect the deceased's intentions and should be rectified by removing clause 1. The court was satisfied that the deceased intended the codicil to be an amendment to her will, rather than a complete revocation of it. The court also determined that the codicil should be admitted to probate, despite the informal execution by the witnesses. The court concluded that the codicil, once rectified, contained the deceased's testamentary intentions and that she intended it to constitute a codicil to her will.

The court made orders to rectify the codicil by deleting clause 1, grant probate of the will and codicil to Judith Ann Sykes, dismiss the caveat lodged by the second defendant, and order that amended terms of compromise reached between the parties be made a rule of court. The court also made orders as to costs.