CASE: Estate of Shirley Gardner Bernengo v Leaney [2019] NSWSC 1324
Shirley Gardner Benengo died on 19 June 2017 without a Will, leaving an estate worth more than $3.5 million and a legal battle to see who would claim it.
There was no doubt that the person who had been closest to her was Juan Jose Bernengo, also known as Marco.
Marco had been Shirley's son-in-law for almost 20 years, up until the death of her daughter (his wife) Gaye-Marie in 2007.
But the question was - had Marco been Shirley's de facto partner at the time of her death?
Marco claimed that he and Shirley had grown close during Gaye-Marie's almost three year battle with brain cancer. After her death, they consoled each other and eventually started a relationship of their own. A relationship that continued until Shirley's death in 2017.
Shirley's nieces and nephews denied that Marco and Shirley had ever been in a de facto relationship. If they could disprove the relationship, then they would be in line to inherit Shirley's $3.5 million estate.
