A solicitor who prepared a will for a wealthy Sydney man has denied, during New South Wales supreme court proceedings, that he had an obligation to ask why his client was leaving tens of millions of dollars to his GP.
Raymond McClure, who died aged 84 in 2017, altered his will twice in the five months before he died, eventually leaving Dr Peter Alexakis 90% of his $30m estate.
Previous wills - the first of which was made in 1986 - made the Salvation Army and other individuals, including a longtime business partner, the beneficiaries of McClure's estate.
The Salvation Army's legal secretary, Gary Masters, is challenging the validity of the final will in the supreme court, arguing it was executed in suspicious circumstances and Alexakis had undue influence over McClure. The will is also subject to multiple cross-claims.
Alexakis says he had no knowledge McClure included him in the will and he never discussed changing the will or the extent of the estate with his patient.
Solicitor Angelo Andresakis, who prepared the will for McClure, continued giving evidence on Thursday.
He denied a suggestion by Raoul Wilson SC, for Masters, that he should have checked with McClure whether he was sure he wanted to change his will to provide 90% of the estate, plus a multimillion-dollar Strathfield home, to Alexakis.
Andresakis had been the long-term accountant of Alexakis's wife and her family, the court has heard previously. He had also assisted another patient of Alexakis to create a will that had benefited the GP. He prepared the will of Alexakis's father, too.
Andresakis said there was no reason for him to second guess McClure's wishes when he made two wills for him after four visits to his hospital and house in mid-2017.
Andresakis had previously said McClure appeared mentally sharp and was not having difficulty understanding the will.
Alexakis told the court earlier this week McClure asked him to recommend a solicitor, and that he had introduced McClure to Andresakis, but that he had not known McClure planned to include him in his will.
The solicitor said on Thursday when he asked McClure who he wanted to include as a beneficiary he did not hesitate in nominating the GP.
"It was the first name that he asked me to write," Andresakis said.
Andresakis also clarified evidence heard in the court on Wednesday, saying police had not attended his office in September 2017 but had informed him in a telephone conversation they were investigating the circumstances under which McClure signed his final will.
The court also heard on Thursday from long-term friends of McClure, whose shares of the will had been diminished in the final two versions made in 2017.
Greg Evans, a former Salvation Army employee who was close with McClure, agreed he was a house proud man who regarded the Strathfield property as his castle, and that he was "extremely private".
He had "very few" people who visited him, Evans said, but "I thought he trusted me, he trusted me because I represented the Salvation Army, and we had a good rapport".
Evans had previously recommended a solicitor to McClure in 2012, who he had used to make his will, and was aware he planned to leave part of his estate to the army.
But McClure had also said he was suspicious of people who could take advantage of him, Evans said. "He was a retired businessman who was brought up in a very humble beginning and he made a lot of money."
Evans had said in an affidavit to the court McClure told him in 2015 he was hurt and disgusted by reports linking the Salvation Army to child sexual abuse, but that the following year he had still planned to leave part of his estate to the charity.
The hearing before justice Trish Henry continues.
