Fortune left to window cleaner
At the High Court, Judge Murray Rosen QC heard how a family was left out of a 98 year old woman’s Will. The entire £300,000 estate was left to a window cleaner which resulted in her family challenging the Will.
Julie Spalding died in September 2008 and was described in Court as “spirited but stubborn”. Her previous Wills left most of her estate to her nephew, Cecil Bray, who had devoted a lot of his time to her and there was an understanding he would inherit her estate. However, since 2005 Mr Bray had stayed away from Mrs Spalding after she had “excommunicated Mr Bray from her life” following a personality change resulting from an accident. Mrs Spalding then changed her Will 3 times and ultimately left her estate to a sole beneficiary - the window cleaner, Mr Pearce.
Mrs Spalding’s nephew challenged the validity of the Will on the grounds that she lacked the necessary capacity and that she had been unduly influenced by Mr Pearce.
Mr Pearce insisted he had merely helped out after 2005 when Mrs Spalding’s family were not around to help. Mr Bray alleged that Mrs Spalding had become increasingly frail and vulnerable and that doctors had diagnosed a possible “paranoid” condition.
In respect of the allegations of undue influence the nephew argued; “He (Mr Pearce) appears to have been the only person who had any kind of regular contact with Mrs Spalding from mid-2005 onwards - to the exclusion of any carers….he exhibited a controlling attitude and a desire to exclude external assessment of Mrs Spalding.”
Judgement is reserved at the end of the two-day case.
Contesting a Will
If you want to challenge the validity of a Will because you believe someone lacked the necessary mental capacity or had been unduly influenced into changing their Will please contact our experienced Will dispute solicitors team who can advise you on your options and, where appropriate, assist in contesting a Will.
