A Tasmanian court has ruled that a man who continued living in his late stepmother's house for more than five years after her death, despite being told to leave, unlawfully trespassed on the property. Justice Michael Brett of the Supreme Court of Tasmania ordered Anthony Carter to pay AU$90,000 in back rent, siding with the two nieces who had inherited the Devonport home. The case underscores how estate and property disputes can drag on for years when family members disagree over occupancy rights and alleged informal financial arrangements.

Ray and Joyce Carter married in 1978 and lived in Joyce's Devonport property for 42 years; when Joyce died in 2020, she left the house in trust to her nieces, Mary Sherriff and Susan Arrowsmith, while granting Ray a life interest to remain there until his own death in February 2021. His son Anthony, administrator of Ray's estate, stayed on despite a solicitor's letter demanding he vacate within days of his father's death, prompting the nieces to sue. Anthony counterclaimed that his father had a beneficial interest in the property through mortgage repayments and home improvements, but the judge found no direct evidence to support this beyond Anthony's own witness statement, while Joyce's sister produced detailed bookkeeping records showing the couple kept separate finances.