Wakilii

Willcox v Arthur and Others (C.C. 158-1938.)

East African Court of Justice · [1933] EACJ 3 · 1933 Judgment for Defendants AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Originating summons to determine administration of estates following simultaneous death
Decision
Estates to be administered as intestacies with distribution to next-of-kin of each deceased

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

Where a husband and wife executed identical wills appointing each other as sole and universal heir and died simultaneously in a sailing accident with no evidence as to which died first, the court held that both estates must be administered as intestacies, with the next-of-kin of each deceased entitled to their respective estate.

Outcome

Estates to be administered as intestacies with distribution to next-of-kin of each deceased

Facts

Norman Robert Willcox and Joan Muriel Willcox, husband and wife, executed identical wills each appointing the other as sole and universal heir and executor. On 15 April 1933, they set forth in a sailing boat on Lake Naivasha and were never seen alive again. Their bodies were recovered later, but there was no evidence that either survived the other. There were no children of the marriage. The husband's will was allegedly executed before but in anticipation of marriage to his wife, who was nominated as sole beneficiary.

Issues

  1. Whether the estates of a husband and wife who executed identical wills appointing each other as sole beneficiary and who died simultaneously should be administered as intestacies.
  2. Whether the next-of-kin of each deceased spouse are entitled to the respective estates.

Orders

  • The estate of each of the deceased must be administered as in an intestacy.
  • The next-of-kin of each of the deceased will be entitled to the estate of each.
  • Costs to come out of the respective estates.

Rules and key headnotes

Probate — Simultaneous Death — Identical Wills
Where spouses execute identical wills each appointing the other as sole beneficiary and both die simultaneously with no evidence as to which died first, it is presumed that both died at the same time and each estate must be administered as an intestacy.
Intestacy — Next-of-Kin — Simultaneous Death of Spouses
Where spouses die simultaneously and their wills fail due to the simultaneous death, the next-of-kin of each deceased spouse is entitled to that spouse's estate under the rules of intestacy.

Cases cited (2)

  • In the Goods of Alaton (1892) P 142
  • Wing v Angrave 11 ER 897

Full judgment

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The original judgment as reported. Read the original PDF before relying on any passage.

Willcox v Arthur and Others (C.C. 158-1938.) [1933] EACJ 3 (1 January 1933)
Source: this page presents Wakilii’s issue analysis and metadata for a publicly reported Ugandan judgment. Any AI-generated summary is marked as such. Judgment text is sourced from the Uganda Legal Information Institute (ulii.org). Wakilii is not affiliated with ULII.