There have been a lot of reports in newspapers and on social media following the recently decided case of Frederick Ward Snr who died in 2020 aged 91. He left just £50 to each of his five grandchildren out of his £500,000 estate. This article examines the brief facts of the case and considers what lessons can be learnt.
The case
Frederick Snr had three children, Terry, Frederick Jnr and Susan. Fred Jnr died in 2015 leaving five daughters Carol, Angela, Amanda, Christine and Janet who became the claimants in this case.
The court heard that the patriarch of the family was “upset” and “strong willed” and had decided to leave the five granddaughters just £50 each as they had not visited him much since their father had died. He was also particularly upset about not being invited to his great granddaughter’s wedding, stating that he was not even given a piece of wedding cake. He felt his grandchildren did not care about him and chose to leave his estate (save for the £250 to the granddaughters) to his two surviving children in equal shares.
The granddaughters brought a claim against their uncle and aunt for a third of the estate which would amount to approximately £166,000 and cited undue influence for their reasoning. They stated it was not about the money but that they were fighting for what their father would have received had he survived their grandfather.
The outcome
The High Court Judge Master James Brightwell, after hearing all the evidence concluded “Having heard the reading of the will spirits were high on both sides from the start and the die was cast for a bitter dispute from the outset”. He went on to find in favour of the uncle and aunt stating “the evidence does not come close to persuading me” that Terry, the uncle, had “coerced” his father or that Susan, the aunt, had “controlled” her father such as to cast doubt on the will.
The Judge ordered the granddaughters to pay the legal costs stating it was “entirely rational” for the “disappointed” grandfather to cut his grandchildren out of his Will. He said that he could understand the general proposition that a deceased child’s share generally ought to be left to their issue (i.e. their children in equal shares) but the decision not to do so in this case “can hardly be said to be provisions which no reasonable testator could make”.
The Judge went on to order the granddaughters to pay not only their own legal fees of £85,688, but also those of their uncle and aunt at £136,470 with VAT to be added.
Points to note
- A testator is free to leave their estate to whomever they wish, in whatever proportions they wish, providing they have given reasonable consideration to those they ought to consider in their will. The Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 is there as a remedy to this where reasonable provision has not been made.
- In this case, the Judge considered reasonable consideration had been given to the granddaughters, but the testator had decided not to leave them more than £50 each and that essentially was his prerogative given the circumstances.
- Undue influence or pressure maybe cited but can be difficult to prove. Any written contemporaneous notes surrounding the making of the will will be crucial to such a claim. Witnesses may be called on both sides of the claim to provide evidence.
- This was the main claim by the granddaughters. Other claims of lack of capacity and want of knowledge and approval of the content of the will were also dismissed by the judge.
- Costs will usually come out of the estate in disputes such as this, however, a judge does have the discretion to order that costs follow the outcome and can order the losing party to pay the other side’s costs too, if the conduct in the matter warrants it.
- In this case the claimant granddaughters lost, and it was ordered they should pay not only their costs but those of the defendant uncle and aunt too. This was a reported £222,158 plus VAT (total approx. £266,589) against the £166,000 they were fighting for.
There are clearly lessons to be learned here; you are not ‘entitled’ to inherit from a family member and a moral crusade can be costly!
If you would like more information regarding Wills, or to discuss disputing a Will, please do get in touch with one of the team.
This is only intended to be a summary of the recent case and not specific legal advice.
