The Public Trustee v Marie Kukula

The Public Trustee, as administrator of the estate of the late Mr. Kukula, appealed to the New South Wales Court of Appeal against a decision of the Supreme Court of New South Wales concerning the distribution of Mr. Kukula's estate. The dispute centred on whether a specific bequest of shares in a company, which had subsequently undergone a share split, should be interpreted to include the increased number of shares resulting from that split.

The primary legal issue before the Court of Appeal was the proper construction of the deceased's will, specifically the intention of the testator regarding the bequest of shares in the context of a subsequent corporate reorganisation. The court was required to determine whether the bequest of a fixed number of shares was intended to be a gift of that specific quantity, or whether it was intended to represent the testator's entire holding in that company at the time of his death, irrespective of any changes in the number of shares due to a share split.

The Court of Appeal held that the testator's intention, as evidenced by the language of the will, was to bequeath his entire holding of shares in the company. The court applied the principle that a will should be construed so as to give effect to the testator's intention, and that where a testator bequeaths a specific number of shares in a company, and that number is subsequently altered by a share split, the bequest should be interpreted to include the resultant larger number of shares, provided it can be shown that the testator intended to dispose of his entire holding in that company. The court found that the wording of the will, coupled with the circumstances at the time of its making, indicated an intention to pass the totality of the deceased's interest in the company's shares.

The appeal was allowed, and the order of the Supreme Court was set aside. The court declared that the bequest of shares was to be construed as including the shares resulting from the share split.