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In Suspicious Circumstances

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The doctrine of suspicious circumstances was developed in English ecclesiastical courts in respect of proof of wills. The requirement to prove the Will-maker knew and approved of the contents and effects of the Will is part of ensuring the Will contained the maker’s real testamentary intentions. Good evidence of this is, for example, that the Will was read to, or by, the Will-maker and they confirmed their understanding. In the case of Tobin v Ezekiel [2011] NSWSC 81, the Court considered the complex relationship between knowledge and approval and undue influence and fraud. The Court said the concept of knowledge and approval is concerned with the contents of the Will, and whether it expresses the testator’s intention, and not with the process by which the testamentary intention was formed. Therefore, any relevant suspicion must be one that casts doubt on whether the testator knew and approved the contents and must relate to the preparation and execution of the Will. Suspicion of fraud or undue influence does not attract the ‘suspicious circumstances’ doctrine, those being affirmative defences which assume that the testator knew and approved the contents but challenge how that intention was procured. Meriwether Lewis died at the Grinder's inn also known as Grinder's Stand. His death remained a mystery until this movie reveals the truth. Sorry, I'm kidding and so was the production of this dumb movie.

And now the most important question. Which vehicle was your favourite? Thunderbird 2 for me (something to do with the way the cargo bay opened - don't ask me why!)

the testator did not give the instructions for the draft Will and the party who takes a significant benefit under the Will, prepared, or procured the Will the testator was elderly and/or suffering from a condition that may have impacted the testator’s testamentary decision making Although there is no strict definition of suspicious circumstances, some that might cause suspicion to arise might include:

it is not enough to show that a person had the power to overbear someone – you will need to show that they actually exercised that power and that it resulted in the production of a Will that is not what the testator wanted. This means that if suspicious circumstances are found sufficient to “excite the suspicion” of the Court, the onus of proof that the deceased knew and approved of the Will’s contents becomes a burden on the person claiming that the Will is valid. In another recent decision of the Court of Appeal in Church v Mason [2013] NSWCA an elderly testator made and executed a Will in circumstances arousing suspicion. Facts included that the beneficiary of the Will was with the testator and telephoned the solicitor when the testator advised him, he wished to make a Will to nominate the beneficiary as both executrix and beneficiary. Further, the beneficiary had prepared a typewritten document which she showed to the testator, in the form of a draft Will with four alternate suggestions. Her evidence was that she read each of the suggestions to the testator and asked him for a response. After he responded ‘ok’ to the second suggestion (by which she received the whole estate), she gave him the document which he then signed. Apparently, it was "lost" for 50 years with Martin Landau believed to have the only copy (which he used to get out to scare visitors!), before both the pilot and movie length adaptations were released by Kino Lorber in 2018 (after 10 years working out who owned the rights). The NSW Court of Appeal found that Georgette Hana failed to provide sufficient evidence to eliminate the doubts concerning the number and quality of the suspicions raised. The initial trial had only expressly referred to two suspicious aspects, whereas the Court of Appeal considered more that should have been taken into account. The Will was consequently found to be invalid.The propounder of a will always has the legal burden to prove three requirements: (i) that the will was duly executed in accordance with the formal rules; (ii) that the testator had knowledge and approval of the contents of the will; and (iii) that the testator had testamentary capacity. When Joseph Stefano left The Outer Limits at the end of season 1, he made this pilot for a show which would be horror orientated. Apparently, the network execs were so scared on viewing it, they cancelled the series! In its decision, the Court said that particular vigilance is required where a person who played a part in the preparation of the Will takes a substantial benefit under it.

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