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The text message was just a draft. It had been left unsent.
It’s intention was controversial.
A 55-year-old man who took his own life a year ago had addressed the phone text message to his brother.
It declared his brother and nephew should “keep all that I have.”
“You and (nephew) keep all that I have house and superannuation, put my ashes in the back garden … (wife) will take her stuff only she’s OK gone back to her ex AGAIN I’m beaten. A bit of cash behind TV and a bit in the bank Cash card pin … My will”
The message, which included detailed banking information and a request to bury his ashes at a specific site, was found by a friend who was searching through the dead man’s phone for clues.
According to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, the Supreme Court in Brisbane has now declared the text message to be a valid will.
“The reference to his house and superannuation and his specification that the applicant was to take her own things indicates he was aware of the nature and extent of his estate, which was relatively small,” Justice Susan Brown reportedly said.
The judge made the ruling after the dead man’s wife applied to manage her late husband’s estate, arguing the text message was not valid as it was never actually sent.
But Brown found the use of the words “my will” and the detailed references to his superannuation and property indicated he was fully aware of what he was doing.
Brown said she was also aware of evidence indicating he and his wife had an unstable relationship, that he had no relationship with his son, and that they had broken up “just days” before he took his own life.
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