{"id":640335,"date":"2026-10-24T22:00:23","date_gmt":"2026-10-24T22:00:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/640335\/"},"modified":"2026-10-24T22:00:23","modified_gmt":"2026-10-24T22:00:23","slug":"an-australian-mother-left-her-estate-to-her-daughter-and-granddaughter-but-nothing-to-her-58-year-old-son-a-court-awarded-him-250000-after-he-challenged-the-will","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/640335\/","title":{"rendered":"An Australian mother left her estate to her daughter and granddaughter but nothing to her 58-year-old son; a court awarded him $250,000 after he challenged the will |"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"An An Australian court has awarded A$250,000 to a 58-year-old man who was excluded from his late mother’s will, which left her estate to his sister and niece. The ruling came after Kendall Bull challenged the estate arrangements following the death of his mother, Joyce Bull, aged 86, in July 2023. Her will, made in December 2020, named her daughter, Sharon Elizabeth Jones, as executor and left the residue of the estate to her granddaughter, Erin. Kendall received nothing under the original terms. He argued that his mother had previously indicated she intended to divide her estate between him and his sister. The Supreme Court of New South Wales ultimately ordered financial provision for him, considering his circumstances alongside the interests of the other beneficiaries.<\/p>\n

Why the Australian mother left her son out of her will<\/p>\n

Joyce Bull’s will was dated December 16, 2020. It provided her daughter with household goods, jewellery, watches and personal effects, while the residue of the estate was left to her granddaughter, Erin. Kendall was not named in the document.During the court proceedings, evidence suggested that Joyce had grown particularly close to Erin in the final years of her life. Her daughter and granddaughter indicated that Joyce believed Kendall did not need financial assistance. However, the court record did not establish a formal explanation from Joyce for excluding her son.<\/p>\n

Son claimed his mother had promised him an inheritance<\/p>\n

Kendall told the court that his mother had previously indicated she intended to divide her estate between him and his sister following the death of their father in 1998. He said this had created an expectation that he would eventually inherit a share of her assets.The court also considered evidence that Kendall had maintained a close and loving relationship with his mother. He had helped her with practical tasks, including handyman work. His claim was not based solely on his expectation of inheritance, but also on whether the will made adequate financial provision for his circumstances.<\/p>\n

Health problems and mortgage weighed in court’s decision<\/p>\n

Kendall’s financial circumstances were a significant part of the case. He had experienced health problems that raised questions about his ability to continue working at his previous level. His employment in the building industry involved physical demands that could become increasingly difficult to manage.He and his wife also had an outstanding home mortgage of approximately A$481,500. His wife had taken paid employment to help support their household as concerns about his health and job security grew.The court considered these circumstances alongside factors that weighed against his claim. Kendall had been employed in a well-paid job, had a stable marriage and held superannuation entitlements. The judge also took into account the interests of his niece, who was pursuing her career and hoped to undertake further university studies to qualify as a registered nurse.<\/p>\n

How much was Joyce Bull’s estate worth?<\/p>\n

The estate was valued at approximately A$900,500 before deductions. This included the family home, valued at A$890,000, and a bank account containing about A$10,570.After estimated funeral expenses, administration costs and legal fees, the net distributable estate was assessed at approximately A$783,965. Kendall initially sought half of the net estate, while his sister argued that his claim should be dismissed or that any award should be limited to A$50,000.The court ultimately ordered a legacy of A$250,000 for Kendall. This represented approximately 32% of the estimated net estate. The award could substantially reduce his mortgage but was not intended to pay off the entire outstanding debt.<\/p>\n

Why the court awarded the son A$250,000<\/p>\n

The Supreme Court of New South Wales concluded that Kendall had not received adequate provision under his mother’s will for his proper maintenance and advancement in life. The judge weighed his financial needs, health concerns, employment risks, relationship with his mother and expectations of inheritance against the interests of the other beneficiaries.The decision did not invalidate Joyce’s will or require an equal division of her assets. Instead, the court ordered a specific payment to Kendall while preserving the granddaughter’s interest in the remaining estate.<\/p>\n

What Australian law says about inheritance disputes<\/p>\n

The case was decided under New South Wales’ Succession Act 2006, which allows eligible people, including the children of a deceased person, to seek a family provision order when a will does not make adequate provision for their proper maintenance, education or advancement in life.Such applications do not automatically succeed simply because a person has been excluded from a will. Courts examine the applicant’s circumstances, the size of the estate, the deceased’s obligations and the needs of other beneficiaries before deciding whether an award is justified.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"An Australian court has awarded A$250,000 to a 58-year-old man who was excluded from his late mother’s will,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":640336,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[313826,138,313827,246,313830,313828,313831,111,139,69,244,245,313829],"class_list":["post-640335","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-personal-finance","tag-australian-inheritance-disputes","tag-business","tag-family-provision-order","tag-finance","tag-financial-provision-for-excluded-heirs","tag-kendall-bull-court-case","tag-new-south-wales-succession-act","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-personal-finance","tag-personalfinance","tag-will-contest-in-australia"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/640335","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=640335"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/640335\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/640336"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=640335"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=640335"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=640335"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}