NO WILL MADE

Evening Star, Issue 21825, 14 September 1934, Page 11

NO WILL MADE

NEXT-OF-KIN IDENTIFIED SUPREME COURT HEARING Portion of this morning’s Supreme Court sitting was taken up with the business of adopting the report of the registrar in the matter of an application by Amy Agnes Cunningham to be declared the next of kin to James Henry M‘Donald, deceased, the defendant being the Public Trustee. Air D. A. Solomon appeared for the plaintiff, and Mr F. B. Adams for the Public Trustee. Mr Solomon said that prior to August, 1928, James Henry M'Donald was a labourer near Balclutha. and on August 6, 1928, was adniitted to an institution where he died intestate, the Public , Trustee becoming the statutory administrator of the estate. Letters of administration were granted to the Public Trustee by tbe Supremo Court in Wellington. The plaintiff, Amy Agnes Cunningham, residing in Western” Australia, claimed that shy was his next of kin and was therefore entitled to the estate. An originating summons was issued on behalf of five plaintiff, and the court had made an order for a registrar to furnish a report as to whether the deceased had been domiciled in New Zealand, and. il so, as to who Ills next of kin was. The present proceedings were for the purpose of adopting the registrar’s report. Mr Adams said the Public Trustee had never really doubted the plaintiff s claim, but after seeing evidence that there were some doubts about certain points, he declined to act without an order from the court. His Honour Mr Justice Kennedy remarked that the evidence before the registrar had shown the extreme propriety of the Public Trustee in requiring that the plaintiff should establish her claim through five court. He did not propose to go through the evidence, but there was ample warrant lor tho registrar’s statement that there were some discrepancies. However, he thought the report should be adopted and confined in that the deceased was domiciled at tho time in New Zealand, and that, though evidence was scarcely more than sufficient, the plaintiff was his next of kin. and, as such, was ’entitled to the estate. A formal order would follow i Ity draft, order.