An elderly couple who died when their car plunged into Lough Derg two years ago were deemed by the High Court yesterday to have died "simultaneously".
The decision was for the purpose of distributing their assets, worth more than £100,000, and as a result the assets will be divided equally between their next of kin.
Mr Timothy Kennedy (76) and his wife, Mrs Theresa Kennedy (75), Melrose, Nenagh, Co Tipperary, died on October 3rd, 1998, when, after leaving a restaurant, it is believed Mr Kennedy took a wrong turning which led to Lough Derg. Three nights later their car was seen in the lough.
Autopsy reports showed Mr Kennedy died of a heart attack and his wife drowned. Mr and Mrs Kennedy had made mutual wills appointing the other as sole executor and universal legatee. They had no children.
Mr Eamonn Mongey, who applied on behalf of Mrs Kennedy's next of kin, said the question to be decided was who died first. He argued that Mrs Kennedy had survived her husband. Medical reports had shown that Mr Kennedy had a coronary bypass operation.
Mr Mongey said it could have been Mr Kennedy's heart attack was not caused by shock due to sudden immersion in water but because Mr Kennedy struggled to open the car door.
Mr Pat Treacy, for Mr Kennedy's next of kin, said there was very little law on this topic. Section 5 of the 1965 Succession Act said where "two or more persons have died in circumstances rendering it uncertain which of them survived the other or others, then for the purposes of the distribution of the estate of any of them, they shall all be deemed to have died simultaneously".
Mr Justice Kearns said he took the view that where a tragedy of this sort occurred, the parties must be deemed to have died simultaneously.