The High Court has admitted to probate an Irish will made by James Browne in 2000, finding that a later Australian will did not reflect an intention to revoke it.
Ms Justice Stack delivered judgment on 15 January 2024 in an application by Mr Browne’s sister, Margaret McHale, the sole executrix named in the Irish will. The decision concerns which testamentary documents should be admitted to probate. The court did not decide any wider dispute about the Australian estate.
Mr Browne, who died in New South Wales in 2015, had made a will in Ballina, Co Mayo, in 2000. It applies only to property in Ireland and leaves that property to his son Anthony, subject to a lifetime provision for his daughter Deirdre’s support, clothing and maintenance. The will also makes Anthony responsible for her welfare.
A 2015 Australian will included a clause revoking all earlier wills and testamentary documents. On its face, that clause appeared to revoke the Irish will. Mr Browne’s widow, Diane, supported the application despite being the sole beneficiary under the Australian will. His other family members also supported the Irish will being admitted.
The judge considered the wording of the 2015 will alongside evidence about its preparation and execution and Mr Browne’s earlier testamentary arrangements. His Australian solicitor, Kenneth Sorrenson, said there had been no discussion of the Irish estate when the 2015 will was prepared. He described the general revocation clause and the failure to exclude the Irish estate as a drafting error. He had not met Mr Browne to review the will before it was signed, and the will was witnessed by a doctor and a medical receptionist.
The court found that the clause was formally capable of revoking the Irish will, but that this alone did not settle whether Mr Browne intended it to do so. Justice Stack accepted extrinsic evidence of intention for the purpose of deciding which documents to admit to probate. She found that Mr Browne had consistently treated his Irish and Australian property separately and intended the Mayo lands to pass to his son. The court was satisfied on the balance of probabilities that he had not changed that intention and had not intended to revoke the Irish will.
Justice Stack therefore admitted the 2000 Irish will to probate. The judgment does not determine the administration or distribution of the Australian estate.