Smorgons in heated court battle over family will

A member of one of Australia’s wealthiest families is taking legalaction against her kin, claiming her father’s will “does not make adequate provision for her maintenance and support”.

Samantha Smorgon with her mother, MichelIe.

One of Australia’s wealthiest families has launched a legal bid to keep its finances secret amid an escalating battle over a will.

Samantha Jane Smorgon, a member of Melbourne’s powerful Smorgon family, is taking legal action in an attempt to obtain financial records of 18 private trusts.

Ms Smorgon believes she been denied access to the benefits of the trusts following the death of her father, Robert Smorgon, because she was conceived by artificial insemination.

But the Sunday Herald Sun can reveal some members of the powerful family are bidding to stop Ms Smorgon gaining access to the financial records.

Samantha is seeking access to tax returns, profit and loss statements, balance sheets, bank statements, meeting minutes and documents relating to the administration and management of the 18 trusts that her father had an interest in.

She states she was a general beneficiary of 15 of the trusts as a “relative of a primary beneficiary.”

She claims she has never been privy to any information about the trusts and never received any income from them.

Michael Meehan, Chief Financial Officer of the family business ESCOR Group, said in an affidavit filed with the Supreme Court in recent weeks that the company could not comply with Samantha’s requests.

Samantha Smorgon. Picture: Twitter

Vicky Smorgon and Robert Smorgon. Picture: Facebook

Mr Meehan argued the documents contain confidential information about the assets, investments and management of 9 of the trusts.

“The business activities of the active trusts include, but are not limited to, investments in equity managed funds, private equity, private equity funds, property and property development and property managed funds,” Mr Meehan said in his affidavit.

“Documents sought by the plaintiff contain confidential and commercially sensitive

information.

“Each of the Defendants objects to disclosure of the documents to the plaintiff on this basis also.”

The Smorgon name is synonymous with business and wealth in Australia.

The wider Smorgon family has in recent years been estimated to have a combined wealth of more than $2 billion dollars.

Samantha Smorgon has also launched legal action against Vicki Smorgon, as the executor of Robert Smorgon’s estate, claiming her father’s will “does not make adequate provision for her proper maintenance and support”.

In an affidavit Samantha Smorgon stated she was defined as a “stepchild” in her father’s will which “further stated that he considered that he had no biological children.”

Samantha, who works in healthcare, stated in an affidavit her mother was Robert Smorgon’s first wife, Michele, and that Robert is named as her father on her birth certificate.

She is also named as his child on his death certificate.

Robert, the son of Eric Smorgon, died in 2019.

“Throughout my childhood, I was brought up believing that I was a child of my father,” she said in the affidavit.

“I believed my father was my biological father until my early teenage years.

“Indeed my father treated me as if he was my natural father and I his child.

“I have been told my brother, Stephen Smorgon, was conceived in the same manner as me.”

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