Estate of Coyne

[2024] NZHC 3534

IN THE HIGH COURT OF NEW ZEALAND AUCKLAND REGISTRY

I TE KŌTI MATUA O AOTEAROA TĀMAKI MAKAURAU ROHE

CIV-2024-404-002902

[2024] NZHC 3534

UNDER

section 14 of the Wills Act 2007

IN THE MATTER OF

the Estate of FIONA JEAN COYNE Deceased

BETWEEN

WADE JORDAN BUDD

Applicant

Hearing:	On the papers
Counsel:	S W M Piggin for Applicant
Judgment:	25 November 2024

JUDGMENT OF LANG J

[application for validation of a will]

This judgment was delivered by Justice Lang On 25 November 2024 at 3.00 pm

Pursuant to r 11.5 of the High Court Rules Registrar/Deputy Registrar

Date:…………………………

Solicitors:

Denham Bramwell/S W M Piggin, Auckland

RE ESTATE OF FIONA JEAN COYNE [2024] NZHC 3534 [25 November 2024]

[1]        Ms Fiona Jean Coyne died at Puhoi on a date unknown between 16 and 21 February 2024. Ms Coyne was 61 years of age at the date of her death.

[2]        An envelope containing several documents was found amongst Ms Coyne’s effects at the address where her body was found. These included a handwritten document that purports to be a will dated 14 February 2024. The will was signed by Ms Coyne but not witnessed by two persons as required by the Wills Act 2007 (the Act). Mr Wade Jordan Budd, one of Ms Coyne’s two sons, seeks an order under s 14 of the Act validating the handwritten document as Ms Coyne’s last will.

[3]        All persons who are likely to be affected by the new will have given their consent to validation of the document.

Relevant principles

[4]Section 14 of the Wills Act provides as follows:

14       High Court may declare will valid

(1)This section applies to a document that—

(a)appears to be a will; and

(b)does not comply with section 11; and

(c)came into existence in or out of New Zealand.

(2)The High Court may make an order declaring the document valid, if it is satisfied that the document expresses the deceased person's testamentary intentions.

(3)The Court may consider—

(a)the document; and

(b)evidence on the signing and witnessing of the document; and

(c)evidence on the deceased person's testamentary intentions; and

(d)evidence of statements made by the deceased person.

[5]        The principles to be applied in the present context are now well established. In short, the onus rests on the applicant to satisfy the Court on the balance of probabilities that the document propounded as the last will of the deceased reflects the testamentary

intentions of the deceased.1 The Court is entitled to take into account any evidence that may assist in determining whether the document expresses the testamentary intentions of the deceased.2

[6]        In undertaking the enquiry under s 14 the Court is required to focus on substance and intention rather than form. This is necessary to ensure that “[a] person who in good faith sets out to express testamentary intentions, should not have those thwarted by technicalities”.3

Decision

[7]        Mr Budd confirms that the document for which validation is sought is in his mother’s handwriting. Several factors persuade me that Ms Coyne intended the handwritten document to be her last will and testament. First, there are numerous references within the document confirming that Ms Coyne intended the document to be her final will. As counsel for Mr Budd points out, these include the following:

(a)“Final Will .. This Will is to cancel will from Public Trust”

(b)“Final will & Testamentary from Fiona Jean Coyne 14/2/2024

(c)Please honor this letter as my final will & replace the will made with Public Trust on 6/11/2018” ;

(d) “Final Will. This is my final will and Replaces will made with Public Trust [signed] FJ Coyne”.

[8]        The handwritten document is also cross-referenced to an earlier will that the Public Trust had prepared for Ms Coyne and that she signed on 6 November 2018.4 It is evident that Ms Coyne considered each of the clauses contained in her 2018 will and then either retained or altered them in the handwritten document. This suggests strongly that she had not made any other will after she signed that prepared by the Public Trust.

1      Kirner v Falloon [2015] NZHC 1873 at [20].

2      Re Campbell (deceased) [2014] NZHC 1632, [2014] 3 NZLR 706 at [15].

3      Re Estate of Wong [2014] NZHC 2554 at [24].

4      The Public Trust abides the decision of the Court on the present application.

[9]        The envelope in which the handwritten document was found also contained a letter dated 14 February 2024 that Ms Coyne had written to her lawyer. The letter contains instructions and arrangements for the administration of her estate under the handwritten document.

[10]      Ms Coyne also wrote letters to her two sons, and these were found at the Puhoi address. The letters were dated 16 February 2024. In these letters Ms Coyne said that she proposed to take her own life and that she had made a will.

[11]      In addition, Ms Coyne dated the handwritten document 14 February 2024. This was the last date on which she was last seen alive, although she subsequently spoke to Mr Budd by telephone on 16 February 2024. During this discussion she told Mr Budd she intended to go to the Puhoi property for a few days by herself and did not wish to be disturbed. Her former partner discovered her body at the property five days later after concerns were raised when she did not come to work on 19 and 20 February 2024.

[12]      Taken together, these factors leave me in no doubt that Ms Coyne intended the handwritten document to constitute her final will. I am satisfied she intended it to supersede the 2018 will prepared by the Public Trust.

Result

[13]      I make an order under s 14 of the Act validating the document as Ms Coyne’s last will.

Lang J