WIDOW'S CLAIM

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVII, Issue 23748, 30 August 1940, Page 11

WIDOW'S CLAIM

ESTATE OF HUSBAND INCREASED ALLOWANCE EQUIVALENT OF £8 WEEKLY An increased allowance to Mrs. Raie Jennings (Mr. A. H. Johnstone, K.C., and Mr. Fleming) from the estate of her late husband, Edgar William Jennings, was ordered by Mr. Justice Fair in an oral decision delivered by him in the Supreme Court .yesterday. Jennings died on August 18, 1939, leaving an estate valued at upward of £IB,OOO, and from this he left his wife £250 and an annuity yielding £4 10s a week. Jennings' daughter Joy, by a previous marriage (Mr. J. B. Elliot), now living in Australia, also asked for some provision from the estate. The defendants were the trustees, V. W. Kerr and G. S. Meredith (Mr. Stanton) and four beneficiaries in the estate, Mrs. Jeanie Brett (Mr. Allan J. Moody), Leonard Adams, of Whangarei (Mr. Trimmer), A. F. Smith (Mr. W. W. King) and V. W. Kerr (Mr. Finlay). Ample in Estate

His Honor said there was ample in the estate to meet obligations to those who had been good friends to the tor as well as his moral obligations to the widow. There was no reason for whittling down her rights on account of the short period of the marriage. Having regard to the scale on which she had lived when single and later as the testator's wife, he thought she should have an allowance of equivalent to £8 a week. He would therefore increase the legacy of £250 by £1250 to £ISOO, and raise the annuity from £4 10s to £6 10s a week, to take effect from the date of the testator's death. The trustees would set aside a sum sufficient to secure that annuity. The allowances thus 'made would be borne by the legatees pro rata. He allowed the plaintiff costs £lO5, and disbursements. Position of Daughter His Honor said different considerations applied to the claim of Joy Jennings, the testator's daughter. Her custody had be'en given to his former wife, and at the time of the divorce a settlement had been made on both mother and child. The child had been living in affluent circumstances with her mother and her step-father, J. W. S. McArthur. She had failed to show that she had any moral claim against the testator and there would be no order in her favour.