By Darryl Browne -
Key decisions
- Polites v Salkanovic [2026] SASCA 2 (letters of administration)
- Nordeck v NSW Trustee & Guardian [2026] WASC 19 (barring order, judicial advice) and Janssen as administrator of the estate of Dr Jurg Dieter Krone [2026] WASC 23 (judicial advice)
- Legal Services Commissioner v Biggs [2026] QCAT 20 (power of Attorney)
- Lord v Craig [2026] NSWSC 17 (costs capping)
- Di Trapani v Di Trapani [2026] QSC 20 (will construction)
Appellate discussion of limited letters of administration
Florence Polites died in 2024. She appointed her son, George Polites, as her executor. He did not seek probate as he considered the estate fully administered and insolvent. A grandson of the deceased, Mark Salkanovic, received an annuity in the will of $5,000 per annum but wanted to file proceedings seeking family provision. To that end, he sought a grant of letters of administration ad colligenda bona (to collect the goods).
The Court made orders largely in accordance with draft orders tendered by the applicant. The executor appealed, arguing the Court’s orders went beyond a grant ad colligenda bona. In the course of dismissing the appeal, the Court of Appeal of South Australia, in Polites v Salkanovic [2026] SASCA 2 (Bleby JA; Doyle and David JJA agreeing), described the different limited grants of administration as traditionally configured and the modern approach to making grants of administration.
