A $190,000 gift made eighteen months before death was treated as an advance on a daughter’s legacy, deducted from her share as a beneficiary of her late mother’s estate.
Marie Vulger died in 2015. Her estate, currently valued at about $880,000, is to be divided equally amongst her seven children. Questions arose over $249,000 paid to daughter Helen Mary Erceg in the eighteen months prior to her death; one large payment of $190,000 and multiple smaller payments of several thousand dollars each. Ms Erceg was an authorised signatory to her mother’s bank account during this time. She was her mother’s primary caregiver.
The High Court was asked to rule on how the $249,000 should be treated. Ms Erceg made no appearance; accepting the court ruling. The doctrine of ‘satisfaction’ presumes children are not to receive ‘double portions’; gifts in advance of a legacy and the legacy itself. This usually applies to large sums paid without explanation, rather than small sums paid by way of allowance. Justice Jagose said there was no evidence of any clear intention by Marie Vulger that the $190,000 was to be a standalone gift. It was to be treated as an advance on her daughter’s legacy, deducted from Ms Erceg’s share of the final distribution.
re Estate Marie Josephine Vugler – High Court (19.06.19)
19.113