The deceased was separated from his wife and children.
Since he was a teenager he had conducted an affair with the plaintiff, before throughout and from the end of his marriage to his wife.
The deceased and his de facto never lived continuously together. The deceased was a truck driver and after his separation from his wife he continued that occupation but whenever he was back from truck driving jobs he lived with or stayed with the plaintiff.
He became ill with cancer and moved in with the mother of one of his friends, who provided him with accommodation and provided care for him.
Just before his death, he made a will which left some of his property to his wife and bits and pieces to his children and a large amount to a non existent charity and nothing to the de facto. The deceased was extremely ill when he made the will.
We acted for the deceased’s lover /de facto wife.
The deceased and the plaintiff had a mutual commitment to a shared life, had exchanged rings and had tattoos done setting out their commitment to each other done simultaneously.
The matter was settled prior to trial for a satisfactory amount.
There was never any meaningful dispute whether our client was the deceased’s de facto. She had been continuously in a relationship with him for the majority of her life, regardless of the fact that the deceased had been married or that he was a truck driver.