NZLII Home | Databases | WorldLII | Search | Feedback

Court of Appeal of New Zealand

You are here:  NZLII >> Databases >> Court of Appeal of New Zealand >> 2023 >> [2023] NZCA 468

Database Search | Name Search | Recent Decisions | Noteup | LawCite | Download | Help

Robinson v Beaman [2023] NZCA 468 (27 September 2023)

Last Updated: 2 October 2023

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF NEW ZEALAND

I TE KŌTI PĪRA O AOTEAROA
CA651/2022
[2023] NZCA 468



BETWEEN

NATALIE CHRISTINE ROBINSON
Appellant


AND

SHANE MICHAEL BEAMAN and JARROD JASON BEAMAN
First Respondents

FYNN BEAMAN and KIM JANINE McHARDY as litigation guardian for AVA DIANNE BEAMAN
Second Respondents

Hearing:

28 August 2023

Court:

Courtney, Whata and Downs JJ

Counsel:

E J H Morrison and J Y Leenoh for Appellant
E Telle for First Respondents
A R Gilchrist and G K Ericson for Second Respondents

Judgment:

27 September 2023 at 10 am


JUDGMENT OF THE COURT

  1. The application to adduce further evidence is granted.
  2. The appeal is dismissed.
  1. The appellant must pay costs to the respondents for a standard appeal on a band A basis, with usual disbursements.

____________________________________________________________________

REASONS OF THE COURT

(Given by Downs J)

Introduction

Background

(a) Mr Beaman’s brothers, Shane and Jarrod Beaman, were executors.

(b) 10 percent of Mr Beaman’s estate went to Shane Beaman, should he survive him.

(c) 10 percent of Mr Beaman’s estate went to Jarrod Beaman, should he survive him.

(d) The balance of Mr Beaman’s estate went to his surviving children who had reached the age of 20 years, and if more than one, in equal shares as tenants in common.

Hi – I’d like to update my Will and as I work in the CBD (although live in Waimauku) is there a means of liaising with you by email to update my Will? I am keen to draft/complete it myself and just to get it legally checked to ensure it is appropriate etc.

My circumstances have changed since my last Will (held at Dominion Law) so it needs updating.

Last will and testament of Glenn Christopher BEAMAN

Hi Luke, what is the preferred method you have for setting up wills?

To minimise time, is it worth us drafting something up for you to consider/review first [or] should Natalie and I book in a time to meet? If the latter we could be available Friday morning if this suits.

Glenn,

  1. we can do a draft will for you to consider if you give us an indication about:

a. Who would you will leave your assets to (ie partner if they survive you);

b. Presumably then if your partner does not survive you evenly between your kids.

c. A guardian for any child is under 18.

d. An alternative executor if your partner who is usually the 1st executor does not survive you.

Hi – here is a start – advice???

Glenn x

a.

b. Who would you will leave your assets to (ie partner if they survive you);

  1. Presumably then if your partner does not survive you evenly between your kids.

a. A guardian for any child is under 18.

  1. An alternative executor if your partner who is usually the 1st executor does not survive you.

[14] We gratefully adopt the Judge’s concise summary in relation to the balance of events:[3]

[15] There is no record of any response by Ms Robinson. Nor did Mr Beaman forward his thoughts to Kemp Solicitors, notwithstanding that there was further correspondence between them five days later, on 11 August 2020, about family trust matters. The Waimauku property was then sold by the family trust on 27 August 2020, and on the same day Mr Beaman and Ms Robinson’s former husband together bought a property in Ramarama. Ms Robinson says that her name was “deliberately left out not to impede Glenn’s loan application because his maintenance payments to [his ex-wife] had really affected this.”

[16] Ms Robinson explains that Mr Beaman did not correspond further with Kemp Solicitors about finalising his will as he assumed the 2014 will was automatically revoked due to his change in family circumstances and because he submitted a newer 2019 version of his will to his solicitor. Ms Robinson says that they did not think there was a rush in finalising their affairs and Mr Beaman “set about changing his will for a third time believing the 2019 version Mr Kemp held would stand until the revision was finalised as he wanted”.

[17] Ms Robinson says that Mr Beaman was disappointed that Mr Kemp told him earlier, in April 2019, that he could not distribute his estate in the way he wanted because it appeared to be leaving smaller provision to his other children, Fynn and Ava. Rather than engage further with Kemp Solicitors, it appears that Mr Beaman then considered seeking advice from another solicitor. On 12 November 2020, two weeks before his death, Mr Beaman texted a friend in the Down Syndrome community:

Hi Viv,

Did you find the lawyer who sorted out your will/trusts etc for Erika good?

Going to set ours up for Tiah and thought I’d work with someone recommended rather than not?

So many can be crap eh? Xx

[18] Then on 20 November 2020, one week before his death, Ms Robinson made a 111 call to the Police reporting a domestic incident between herself and Mr Beaman. Ms Robinson told the Police of previous discord and said she was thinking of leaving Mr Beaman. She was also considering a protection order and wanted Mr Beaman to receive the help he needed for his anger problems and for his depression. Mr Shane Beaman says he was told by Ms Robinson that the offending was minor in that as Mr Beaman was driving away, he almost “bowled” her and one of the children (who she was holding) over and that the Police informed her that they could not do much unless she wished to lay a charge and if she did it would put Mr Beaman at the top of the mental health list so he could get immediate treatment. She confirmed she would therefore lay a charge.

[19] The Police subsequently arrested and charged Mr Beaman with assault on a person in a family relationship, assaulting a child and common assault. He appeared in the Papakura District Court on 21 November 2020, when he was remanded without plea on bail to 10 December 2020. The criminal charges were withdrawn after Mr Beaman’s death a week later.

The High Court decision

[32] ... I am of the view that Mr Beaman did not have a settled testamentary intention at the time of the 2020 e-mail or 2019 draft will. I find it implausible that, as asserted by Ms Robinson, Mr Beaman assumed the 2014 will was automatically revoked due to his change in circumstances or that the 2019 draft will sent to Kemp Solicitors would stand until the revision was finalised as Mr Beaman wanted. The evidence discloses that Mr Beaman knew he should update the 2014 will, but that in the last two years of his life he continued to seek advice from solicitors and others, including Ms Robinson, and a friend in the Down Syndrome community. He clearly wanted to provide in some way for Tiah and had received advice from Kemp Solicitors of their proposal to assist him in making a new will “in the context of reviewing the family trust deed to establish the extent to which you have the freedom to benefit Tiah from the trust fund.” The trust deed was, however, not reviewed and no decisions had been made on the final shape of a will.

[33] In all the circumstances, the application to validate the 2020 e-mail or the 2019 draft will as Mr Beaman’s will is dismissed. Mr Beaman’s testamentary intentions were not settled at either time.

A précis of Ms Robinson’s case on appeal

(a) The 2020 email is “both self-explanatory and tolerably clear”, and the Judge was wrong to approach it otherwise, particularly by placing so much weight on the introductory phrase, “here is a start”.

(b) The Judge erred in identifying problems with the efficacy of Mr Beaman’s testamentary intentions as this concern has no relevance to discerning what those intentions were.

(c) The Judge speculated when referring to the incident on 20 November 2020 as an example of an event that might have influenced Mr Beaman’s testamentary intentions, as there is no evidence the incident had any such effect.

(d) That Mr Beaman was looking for new lawyers was consistent with his testamentary intentions in relation to the 2020 email and the 2019 draft.

(e) The Judge erred in concluding the 2020 email and the 2019 draft contained significant differences in their outcomes.

Further evidence

Analysis

Mr Beaman’s associated email also bears repeating:

Hi – I’d like to update my Will and as I work in the CBD (although live in Waimauku) is there a means of liaising with you by email to update my Will? I am keen to draft/complete it myself and just to get it legally checked to ensure that it is appropriate etc.

My circumstances have changed since my last Will (held at Dominion Law) so it needs updating.

Description
Debit
Credit
Partners Life Premium Refund

$1,963.59
Partners Life Interest on Life Cover

$8,083.77
Partners Life Insurance Payment

$1,016,673.00
Mercer Kiwisaver

$51,088.92
APM / AMP Life Insurance

$282,900.00
Westpac credit account

$120,479.22
Westpac savings account

$10,152.72
Mastercard
($3,162.38)

Half share in [family home]

$850,000.00
Half share of Westpac mortgage
($496,993.50)



$1,841,185.34

[25] Second, the e-mail was a work in progress. If the e-mail had been forwarded to Kemp Solicitors, Mr Kemp would undoubtedly question the efficacy of giving 50 per cent of his estate to Jentah with the understanding that she, being Tiah’s primary caregiver when of age, would care and act as guardian of Tiah. At the time Jentah was just a year old.

Result






Solicitors:
K3 Legal Ltd, Auckland for Appellant
KooTelle Lawyers, Auckland for First Respondents
Ericson Lawyers, Auckland for Second Respondents


[1] Robinson v Beaman [2022] NZHC 2822.

[2] Marshall v Singleton [2020] NZCA 450, [2020] NZFLR 556 at [48].

[3] Robinson v Beaman, above n 1.

[4] Wills Act 2007, s 14(1).

[5] Section 14(2).

[6] Robinson v Beaman, above n 1, at [24].

[7] At [25].

[8] At [26].

[9] At [26].

[10] At [26].

[11] The table is taken from the submissions on behalf of Ms Robinson.

[12] Unless, of course, Ms Robinson had died before Mr Beaman.

[13] Robinson v Beaman, above n 1.


NZLII: Copyright Policy | Disclaimers | Privacy Policy | Feedback
URL: http://www.nzlii.org/nz/cases/NZCA/2023/468.html