In bulletin 8 (June 2018) of de Groot’s Wills, Probate and Administration Practice (NSW), one of the update items addressed the case of Re Estate Jerrard, deceased [2018] NSWSC 781, which was determined by Justice Lindsay on 8 June 2018. The case was included in the bulletin because it is:

• the third case considered by the Supreme Court of NSW concerning Part 4.4 of the Succession Act, under which a distribution order may be sought in an indigenous intestate’s estate; and
• the first case to consider competing claims on the bounty of the deceased person made by claimants within the deceased’s indigenous community.

This appears to be a growing area in NSW wills and estates practice, with two cases decided in the last six months. To date, only the Northern Territory, New South Wales and Tasmania have enacted legislation enabling distribution orders to be made for indigenous intestate estates. It seems likely that, in due course, further jurisdictions will consider inclusion of these provisions in their intestacy laws.

Bulletins are published monthly and are available to subscribers of Wills, Probate and Administration Practice (NSW). For more information, see https://www.degrootspublishing.com/newsouthwaleswpap/

Other matters considered in bulletin 8 included a successful case of estoppel and constructive trust relating to a deceased estate, class gifts in wills and the application of section 42 of the Succession Act.