The neighbours of a deceased elderly lady will inherit two waterfront properties worth around $15 million dollars in a recent case decided in the Equity division of the Supreme Court of New South Wales.
Mrs Barbara Murphy did not have a spouse or children to leave her estate and owned two waterfront properties in Sydney. She resided in one and also owned an adjacent property. Mr Moore and his partner, Ms Andreason purchased the property on the other side of Mrs Murphy’s home with dreams of renovating to make a tidy profit. These renovations included plans that would restrict Mrs Murphy’s harbour views.
When Mrs Murphy learned about these plans, she made a proposal to Mr Moore. She asked him not to conduct the view-restricting renovations and care for her as she grew older so that she did not have to move to a nursing home, the thought of which she dreaded. In exchange, she would leave him and his partner her two properties in her will. Mr Moore accepted Mrs Murphy’s proposal and did not proceed with the planned renovations to his property and cared for Mrs Murphy into her old age in reliance of the promise she had made to him.
In the year before her death, he even took her to an appointment with her solicitor to make amendments to her will. Mr Moore was shocked to learn Mrs Murphy had left her entire estate, equally to her siblings. If her siblings were to die before her, her the estate would go to a charity. Mr Moore and his partner were to receive the sum of only $25,000.
Mr Moore made application to the Supreme Court to dispute Mrs Murphy’s will based on his reliance on her promise and the fact that he kept his side of the bargain. The Court agreed with Mr Murphy and Chief Judge Ward ruled she was satisfied there was a ‘clear representation by the deceased to the effect that, if the plaintiffs looked after her (in the way in which Ms Andreasen (Mr Moore’s partner) had been looking after her own mother), so that the deceased could stay in her own home for as long as possible, then the deceased would leave the Louisa Road properties to them’.
Mrs Murphy’s lawyer and both her siblings have all died since the legal proceedings began.
The transfer will be made to Mr Moore and Ms Andreason shortly.
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