Australian judge passes an unsent text as will

A man drafted a text, containing his will, but was unable to send it before he took his own life and now an Australian court has ruled that the text can be passed as a legitimate will.

The man left his home, pension and a small amount of money to his bother rather than his wife and son and the only proof to his intention is that unsent message. The draft message, addressed to the man’s brother, was found on his phone after he took his own life in October 2016.

“The informal nature of the text does not exclude it from being sufficient to represent the deceased’s testamentary intentions,” said Justice Susan Brown when handing down her decision at the Brisbane Supreme Court.

The man, aged 55, was apparently struggling from marital problems and he was disgruntled with his wife, as is evidenced from the wordings of the unsent text which was released by the court.

“You and (nephew) keep all that I have house and superannuation, put my ashes in the back garden… (wife) will take her stuff only she’s ok gone back to her ex AGAIN I’m beaten,” it read.

“A bit of cash behind TV and a bit in the bank.”

The message also provided the man’s bank account details and it ended with the words ‘My will’, followed by a smiley emoji.

The man’s wife was not happy about the decision and she argued that the text could not be accepted as a will since it was never sent. However, the court ruled that the wording of the text indicated the man’s intent to have it included in his will.

“The reference to his house and superannuation and his specification that the (wife) was to take her own things indicates he was aware of the nature and extent of his estate, which was relatively small,” Brown added.

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Posted by fatimaarshad on Oct 12 2017. Filed under Latest News, World. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.