Strict Catholic father's will for $11.5m fortune overturned

Five children successfully contested their father's fortune after it was all left to one son.

Children of a strict Central Otago Catholic man have finally been awarded millions of dollars from his will that he specifically denied them.

Last month, the Auckland High Court ruled in favour of four of Jack Enright's children after the St Bathans man initially left his money exclusively to his youngest son, Tony.

Jack Enright lived at the Dunstan Burn Station, near St Bathans, for most of his life before moving to Christchurch, then to Australia.

He died in 2014.

Throughout his life he bought and sold businesses and land including Queenstown property development business Larchwood Heights and property at Wye Creek, on the shore of Lake Wakatipu.

He grew Dunstan Burn Station to 10,000ha.

After his death, five years ago, to Tony he left Southern Lakes Holdings, a trust which was in 2009 valued at $11.5 million.

The ruling states he "left everything to Tony and nothing to his other children".

The other five launched a legal challenge.

Court documents reveal them describing a strict Catholic upbringing with their father and each falling out with him.

This happened with Wayne Enright, after moving to Australia at 17 and joining an evangelical church, daughter Cathie Newton, after she said she wanted to marry someone who had wed previously, and Gene Enright, when he chose to
travel overseas in 1985.

Another son, Terry, had said his father was "forceful" in his faith and threatened them with being cut from his will.

Tony, on the other hand, said his father was "faithful to his family" which he put first and foremost, and showed "compassion to him over marriage break-ups".

His son Adrian died in 2015.

Justice Palmer ordered Southern Lakes Holdings to pay $995,859 plus simple interest equally to Newton, Wayne, Gene and to the estate of the late Adrian.

Tony Enright was ordered to pay $719,890 split between them.

He ruled Terry Enright out of time with his claim as he knew of the legal issue with the trust in 2008, but his siblings could consider he could share what they recovered.