WA court declines to make statutory will

Earlier this month His Honour Justice Chaney handed down his decision ( R v J [2017] WASC 53) in respect of an application seeking to have the Supreme Court make a will for a woman lacking testamentary capacity pursuant to section 40 of the Wills Act 1970 (WA) (Wills Act), also known as a statutory will.

Despite all relevant parties being in favour of the proposed will, the Court declined the application. The laws relating to statutory wills in Western Australia are different from those in other states and this case gives important guidance about how Western Australian courts determine whether a statutory will should be made.

Family History

To protect the identities of the parties, they are referred to as R and J. The plaintiff R, is the adult daughter of J.