A Victorian Supreme Court case centers on how to execute the will of Southey, who died in October 2022, after questions arose about the true identity of his online partner, Kyle Stuart Jackson, named as executor and sole beneficiary.

The court found that Jackson never existed in the understood sense, and the ex-wife was entitled to distribute the estate without regard to Jackson’s supposed interest, effectively removing him from the succession.

Evidence showed Kyle Jackson did not exist as described, with fraudulent indicators including a forged passport image, a Pennsylvania address, and a Canadian-dollar cheque deemed invalid.

A private investigator found no record of a real Kyle Jackson or any birth record for that name, supporting the conclusion that the identity was false.

Southey had contemplated an alliance with Jackson and its implications were spelled out in the will: if Jackson could not act, the ex-wife would inherit, clarifying the contingency if the claimed beneficiary could not participate.

The court ruled the deceased’s online relationship was with a person using a false identity, and further searches were unlikely to uncover a real individual behind the alias.

The probate process proceeded in two stages—validation of the will and appointment of an executor, followed by a distribution decision—resulting in the ex-wife’s succession.

A Victorian Supreme Court judgment concluded that the online lover tied to Southey’s will does not exist as a real person, affecting bequests.

Because the purported identity did not exist, the named beneficiary did not exist, leading the court to distribute the remainder of the estate to the ex-wife as provided in the will.

In August 2022, Southey rewrote his will to make the online romance, Kyle Stuart Jackson, the chief beneficiary and executor after his longtime partner’s death and prior online relationships.

From late 2022 to late 2023, an individual claiming to be Jackson communicated with Southey’s lawyers and ex-wife, initially declining the inheritance and later seeking 15% for himself via the ex-wife’s execution of the will.

The case underscores risks linked to online relationships and scams, particularly as technology enables late-life romances and estate plans built around fictitious identities.