Thomas v Aplitt

In the matter of Thomas v Aplitt, the parties involved were siblings contesting the administration of their deceased mother's estate. The primary dispute centred around the revocation of a grant of Probate and the issuance of letters of administration with the copy Will annexed to the Plaintiff. The case was heard in the Supreme Court of Queensland. The legal issues before the court included whether the separate question relating to the revocation of the grant of Probate and the appointment of the Plaintiff as administrator was suitable for determination, and whether the executors had adequately administered the estate.

The court examined whether the separate question could be determined independently from the main proceedings. There was no dispute that the order for the hearing of the separate question should be made. The court found that the question was suitable for separate determination. The Plaintiff argued that the executors had not fully administered the estate, which justified the revocation of the grant of Probate. The first Defendant consented to the revocation and the Plaintiff's appointment as administrator. The second Defendant was not an active party in the proceedings and did not appear at the hearing. The court found that the executors had failed to adequately administer the estate, justifying the revocation of the grant of Probate.

The court ordered the revocation of the grant of Probate and issued fresh letters of administration with the copy Will annexed to the Plaintiff. This decision allowed the Plaintiff to complete the administration of the estate. The final orders of the court were to revoke the grant of Probate and to grant letters of administration with the copy Will annexed to the Plaintiff, thereby enabling her to take over the administration of the estate.