Blind 92-year-old's multi-million dollar fortune sparks inheritance fight after she leaves everything to her stepson instead of her beloved charities

By SARAH BROOKES - SENIOR REPORTER, AUSTRALIA Published: 14:32, 14 August 2026 | Updated: 14:38, 14 August 2026 A legally blind 92-year-old woman who planned to leave her fortune to animal welfare and disability charities before signing a last-minute will handing everything to her stepson has sparked a bitter courtroom battle over her final wishes.  The NSW Supreme Court heard Wilma Pusterla was living in an aged-care facility when she signed the will in October 2023, just weeks before her death in December that year. Her estate included a home in Willoughby, on Sydney's Lower North Shore, worth about $3.5million, as well as cash and investments. The court heard on October 12, 2023, her stepson Philip Smith arrived at Ms Pusterla's room at Liverpool's Bernard Austin Lodge with two men she had never met. The pair, a friend and work colleague of Mr Smith's, were brought in to witness the will. Mr Smith then left the room while the men read the two-clause will aloud to the 92-year-old before she signed it. One of the witnesses later made a note recording that Ms Pusterla responded 'yes' when asked if she understood the document and then asked: 'Where do I sign?'  The court heard Ms Pusterla had never been shown the will before the day she signed it, and she wasn't given a copy after it was executed. Evidence showed Wilma Pusterla had been donating to MS Plus since 1985, WWF since 1990, NextSense since 1996, Guide Dogs since 2002 and Taronga since 2005 (stock image above) By the time she entered aged care, Ms Pusterla weighed just 36.8kg and was living on pureed meals after treatment for jaw cancer left her unable to eat solid food.  Six charities challenged the final will - the Taronga Conservation Society Australia, WWF Australia, NextSense, MS Plus, the International Fund for Animal Welfare and Guide Dogs NSW/ACT. Evidence showed Ms Pusterla had been donating to MS Plus since 1985, WWF since 1990, NextSense since 1996, Guide Dogs since 2002 and Taronga since 2005. She had also repeatedly advised the organisations they had been included in her will.  The charities argued Ms Pusterla lacked testamentary capacity, did not properly understand or approve the contents of the will and had been subjected to undue influence by her late partner's son, Philip Smith, who stood to inherit the entire estate. However, Justice Kate Williams rejected claims that Ms Pusterla lacked the mental capacity to make a will, finding she remained capable of understanding the nature and effect of the document despite her age and frailty. Instead, the judge ruled the will could not stand because it had been executed in suspicious circumstances and there was insufficient evidence Ms Pusterla understood she was giving Mr Smith her entire estate. 'The plaintiff failed to discharge his onus of proving that the deceased knew and approved the contents of the will,' Justice Williams found. The court ultimately ordered that the October 2023 will not be admitted to probate and instead granted administration of Ms Pusterla's estate under her earlier August 2020 will, which left her estate to six charities and a longtime friend (stock image above)  The court heard Ms Pusterla had told Mr Smith she wanted him to inherit her Willoughby home. But the will ultimately prepared by solicitor Frank Mathey left Mr Smith her entire estate, including cash and investments, a change the judge found had never been properly explained to her. The court heard Mr Mathey never took instructions directly from Ms Pusterla, never discussed the proposed will with her and never provided her with a draft before it was signed. Justice Williams described the solicitor's handling of the matter as 'highly questionable, to put it mildly'. The court ultimately ordered that the October 2023 will not be admitted to probate and instead granted administration of Ms Pusterla's estate under her earlier August 2020 will, which left her estate to six charities and longtime friend Barbara Vasek. Mr Smith disputed the allegations and maintained the will reflected Ms Pusterla's wishes. The court heard Ms Pusterla had been in a de-facto relationship with Mr Smith's father, Philip Lamond Smith, from the mid-1970s until his death in 2016. Although often described as her stepson, Mr Smith was an adult when the relationship began and never lived with the couple. After the death of Ms Pusterla's longtime friend and carer Barbara Vasek in May 2023, Mr Smith became her attorney and enduring guardian, helping manage her affairs, liaising with doctors and arranging her care. While some friends claimed Mr Smith had little involvement in Ms Pusterla's life before then, Justice Williams found the evidence did not establish he was estranged from either his father or Ms Pusterla and accepted he had maintained contact with her over many years. Importantly, the judge also rejected allegations that Mr Smith had exercised undue influence over Ms Pusterla, finding there was insufficient evidence that he had coerced her into changing her will.  The ruling means Ms Pusterla's multimillion-dollar estate will now be administered under her 2020 will, restoring the charitable bequests she had included in her estate planning for more than a decade. The question of legal costs will be determined at a later date.