4317 of 2007 CHERIE ANN TIEDEMAN -v- LISA GAYE TILSE
JUDGMENT
1 HIS HONOUR: These are proceedings under the Family Provision Act 1982.
2 By summons filed on 31 August 2007 Cherie Ann Tiedeman claims an order for provision for her maintenance, education and advancement in life from the estate and/or the notional estate of her late father Ronald William Wrightson (to whom I shall refer as "the Deceased").
3 The Deceased died on 3 July 2006, aged 74. He left a will dated 8 May 1998, probate whereof was on 9 August 2006 granted to Lisa Gaye Tilse, the executor named in such will (who is the Defendant to the present proceedings).
4 The inventory of property discloses the following assets, and the estimated values ascribed thereto:
Real estate situate at and known as
127 Macquarie Street, Merewether $395,000
Greater Building Society savings account $552.83
Savings account $14,009.21
National Australia Bank savings account $5,522.09
Interest in mother-in-law's estate $111,000
1998 Toyota Corolla motor car $8,000
5 The house property at Merewether has been sold (for $395,000) and it appears that the net proceeds of sale, in an amount of $380,796, are currently held by the Defendant, as are the other asset's of the estate.
6 I shall later refer to the various calculations which have been provided by the Defendant concerning the present assets of the estate. For the present, however, suffice it to say that, according to the Defendant, the assets appear to have a present value in the order of $477,000.
7 In calculating the value of the estate available for distribution the costs of the present proceedings should be taken into consideration, since the Plaintiff, if successful in her claim, will normally be entitled to an order that her costs be paid out of the estate of the Deceased, whilst the Defendant, irrespective of the outcome of the proceeding, will normally be entitled to an order that her costs be paid out of the estate. It has been estimated on behalf of the Plaintiff that her costs will total $43,000, whilst it has been estimated on behalf of the Defendant that her costs will total about $61,708 (of which she has already paid a sum of $39,708). That is, the total costs of the proceedings are estimated to be in an amount of about $105,000. If the totality of those costs be payable out of the estate of the Deceased, the value of the estate available for distribution would be in the order of $372,000.
8 The Deceased, who was a widower at the time of his death (his wife, Mrs Barbara Wrightson, having died in 1988), was survived by his two children, Cherie Ann, the Plaintiff (who was born in 1961, and is now aged 47 years) and Lisa Gaye, the Defendant (who was born in 1963 and is now aged 44).
9 By his will the Deceased directed that the Merewether house property be sold and that the proceeds of sale be divided as to 75 percent to the Defendant and as to 25 percent equally between his two grandchildren, Amy Rose Laver and Eliott Jonas William Laver (who are the children of the Plaintiff). The residue of the estate was given to the Defendant.
10 Clause 5 of the will is as follows,
AFTER very careful and lengthy consideration I have laid down the terms and conditions of this my last Will and Testament fully aware of my obligations, legal or moral to my daughter CHERIE ANN LAVER whether or not I have made any prior provision for her during my lifetime to the intent that this Will encompasses my full testamentary intentions and I DECLARE that in the event of any litigation arising out of any claims against my estate that these provisions will be taken into account by any and all Courts.
11 In addition, there were placed in evidence various handwritten statements signed jointly by the Deceased and by Mrs Barbara Wrightson and a further handwritten statement signed by Mrs Wrightson alone. Those documents concern the relationship between the Plaintiff and her parents.
12 The Plaintiff left home to marry Peter James Laver in October 1982. Two children were born of that marriage, being Amy Rose (who was born in 1989, and is presently aged 19) and Eliott Jonas William (who was born in 1993, and is presently aged 15). The Plaintiff and Mr Laver separated in April 1996, and they subsequently divorced.
13 The Plaintiff in February 2005, married her present husband, Terry Tiedeman, with whom she had been living since December 2002. According to the Plaintiff, her relationship with both her parents had been a very good one until her marriage to Mr Laver had foundered in 1996. At about that time the Plaintiff's mother was diagnosed with bowel cancer. The Plaintiff said that the relationship with her parents deteriorated from the time of the breakdown of her marriage. Her parents, however, continued to maintain a good relationship with Mr Laver and with the Plaintiff's children.
14 From the time of the deterioration of her relationship with her parents, the Plaintiff suffered from depression, for which condition she was treated by a psychiatrist for more than three years. She was admitted to hospital on more than two occasions in 1996, on account of her psychiatric conditions (one of those occasions being after she had attempted suicide).
15 The extent and the nature of the contact from 1996 between the Plaintiff and her parents and (after her mother's death in April 1998) between the Plaintiff and the Deceased, was the subject of a considerable quantity of evidence.
16 There is no doubt that there was a significant degree of estrangement between the Plaintiff and her parents, although the Plaintiff asserted that there had been a reconciliation between them before her father's death. The written statements of the Deceased (which are admissible in evidence pursuant to section 30 of the Family Provision Act) support the existence of such an estrangement, and manifest a very strong animus against the Plaintiff on the part of the Deceased (who appears, quite irrationally, to have held the Plaintiff responsible for the death of her mother - who died from cancer).
17 The nature and extent of the Plaintiff's contact with the Deceased from 1996 until his death in 2006, are not, however, determinative of the Plaintiff's present claim. In exercising its discretion under section 7 of the Family Provision Act the Court must still look primarily to the needs of the Plaintiff.
18 The Plaintiff has tertiary qualifications, being an Associate Diploma in applied science (a chemistry certificate), which she acquired from TAFE in 1983. For some time she worked in various laboratories in the food, pharmaceuticals industries. At the time of the commencement of the proceedings the Plaintiff was employed on a full-time basis as a debtor co-ordinator (although she said that she did not have any specific training for that employment, other than on the job training). In that position she was receiving an annual salary of $54,000 gross. For the year ended 30 June 2008 her taxable income was $53,932.
19 The Plaintiff's husband is employed as a construction project manager. For the year ended 30 June 2008 his taxable income was $143,485.
20 In January 2008 Mr Tiedeman commenced working on a project for his employer, for which he receives a project bonus. According to the Plaintiff, that project requires him to work 12 hours a day for six days a week. It was expected that the project would conclude in late December 2008. When the project ends Mr Tiedeman, although retaining his employment, will receive a reduced income. The evidence did not disclose any details of the amount of the project bonus, or the amount of Mr Tiedeman's expected salary when that project bonus comes to an end.
21 The Plaintiff and her husband jointly own the following assets (to which the following respective estimated values were ascribed):
House property situate at and known as
19 Flowerdale Avenue, Merewether Heights $450,000
Motor vehicle $22,000
Bank accounts, Greater Building Society $2,788
Household contents/goods (sale value) $10,000
Shares (owned solely by Plaintiff's husband) $15,000
Superannuation entitlements of Plaintiff $34,391
Superannuation entitlements
of Plaintiff's husband $141,713