McCullough Robertson’s Estates team has successfully acted for the executor of an estate, defending an application to have an adoption order discharged in an attempt to bring a claim for further and better provision on the estate.

We discovered the deceased had a child adopted at birth who applied to discharge the adoption order, claiming the deceased was unduly influenced into consenting (the adoption occurred in 1945). The applicant hoped to be reinstated as a legal child, making them eligible to claim further provision from the estate. If successful, this could have set a precedent for adopted children to challenge their biological parents’ estates after their adoptive parents’ deaths.

We worked closely with counsel to comb through the evidence, the relevant legislation (both current and as it was in 1945, being the relevant time for the adoption in question) prepared comprehensive submissions dissecting the relevant legislation and cases, or lack thereof, on this niche area of law.

The application, heard by Martin SJA in June 2024, was dismissed on 6 September 2024, with costs awarded in our favour.

This case dealt with very interesting and obscure points of law, and Martin SJA’s judgment was insightful, providing commentary on the rules and admissibility of evidence.