DISPUTED BEQUEST

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXII, Issue 22144, 25 June 1935, Page 12

DISPUTED BEQUEST

£BO,OOO CHARITY FUND MRS. C. SMITH'S ESTATE FURTHER APPEAL LIKELY The fate of the fund of about £BO,OOO set aside for charitable purposes under the will of Mrs. Catherine Smith, of Auckland, is not yet finally decided, for steps are being taken to have the decision of the Court of Appeal tested before the Privy Council. The Court of Appeal decided last month that the clause in the will purporting to dispose of this sum for charities was invalid, and that the sum should revert as an intestacy to the relatives. The SolicitorGeneral, Mr. H. H. Cornish, has now informed Mr. H. M. Bogerson, counsel for the relatives, that he intends to apply to the Court of Appeal for leave to proceed to the Privy Council. The estate of Mrs. Smith, who was ! the widow of Captain James Smith, was valued for probate at £126,595. The residue, amounting to £75,961 was disposed of as a trust to bo administered by the New Zealand Insurance Company, Limited, for "charitable, benevolent, educational or religious purposes" in or about Auckland. The trustees sought direction of the Supreme Court, and last September Mr. Justice Herdman delivered judgment upholding the validity of the bequests for charitable purposesThe relatives appealed to the Court of Appeal against this decision, and their appeal was successful, the Chief Justice, Sir Michael Myers, holding that the phrase used by the testatrix was too wide and indefinite and that the gift must be held void for uncertainty. An order was made that the fund should should descend as on an intestacy. The Solicitor-General has six months in which to go to the Court after giving notice to the other parties. As the major portion of the estate consists of Government and local body debentures bearing interest, the fund in dispute is steadily growing in value. A decision from the Privy Council is not likely to be reached in much less than 18 months, and it is therefore likely that the sum will have been considerably increased before it is finally disposed of.