The Supreme Court of Australia has ruled that Battle of Crete veteran, Norman William Maddock OAM, did not have sufficient mental capacity to alter his will in the months before his death.
In the 15 months leading up to his death, Maddock changed his will three times. In the second of those changes, he had Melbourne hairdresser, Marcia Reynolds, appointed sole executor of his will.
According to The Sydney Morning Herald, the WWII veteran tried to give away more than $1 million worth of property and cash to Reynolds prior to his death.
These changes meant Maddock left less money to his wife of 45 years, Shirley, who was in aged care, and cut his adult children out of the will.
Shirley, through her administrator Australian Unity Trustees Limited, and the couple’s two children, filed challenges to the will changes in December 2020, while Reynolds sought a grant of probate to the final will.
This week, Justice Kate McMillan dismissed Reynolds’ application for probate, finding Maddock did not have the mental capacity to make the third and final changes to his will.
Maddock died in June 2020 aged 97. He had been diagnosed with a psychotic disorder, paranoid ideation, cognitive difficulties and low mood in the two years before his death.
Who was Norman Maddock?
In a tribute to Maddock after his death in 2020, The Greek Herald described how he was part of a special military division in the Australian Imperial Forces which fought with distinction during the Battle of Crete in 1941.
Norm was involved in a series of actions aimed at delaying the German advance, as well as in rearguard positions that enabled the successful withdrawal of thousands of allied troops.
Norm managed to reach the port of Kalamata in the southern Peloponnese and was evacuated on the Costa Rica. He fought in Georgioupolis, Chania and the Battle of 42nd Street.
Norm was captured in Crete but escaped and reached the North African coast by sea.
READ MORE: Victorian Battle of Crete veteran ‘Norm’ William Maddock tragically dies aged 97.
Source: The Sydney Morning Herald.
