A judge has ruled that disappointed grandfather Frederick Ward Snr was within his rights to leave just £50 (Rs 5,250) each to his grandchildren in his will. This decision came after a family dispute arose when he left nearly all of his £500,000 (Rs 5.25 crore) fortune, including his £450,000 (Rs 4.72 crore) flat, to two of his children upon his death in 2020. Ward Snr had expressed his disappointment with his deceased son Fred Jr.’s five daughters, stating that he felt upset that they hadn’t visited him during his hospitalisations for a lung condition.
Upon discovering they had been largely left out of their late grandfather’s will, Fred’s five granddaughters – Carol Gowing, Angela St Marseille, Amanda Higginbotham, Christine Ward and Janet Pett – took legal action, asserting their right to a third of his estate.
High Court judge Master James Brightwell has now ruled that the will from 2018 was ‘entirely rational,’ noting the grandchildren’s ‘very limited contact’ with their ‘disappointed’ grandfather. Dismissing their claim, Master Brightwell stated, Some may argue that, in general, when a testator’s child has passed away before them, they should typically leave an equal share of their estate to that child’s offspring.
However, the decision not to distribute the estate equally among his surviving children and to instead allocate the majority to them cannot be considered a provision that no reasonable testator would make.’
The sisters contended that the 2018 will was ‘invalid’ and alleged that their Uncle Terry Ward and Aunt Susan Wiltshire had ‘unduly influenced’ their grandfather to modify his will to exclude them. However, Judge Brightwell stated, ‘the evidence does not come close to persuading me’ that Terry had ‘coerced’ his father or that Susan had ‘controlled’ him to the extent that would cast doubt on his will.
Previously, Fred Snr had drafted a will that divided his estate among all three of his children. However, when Fred Jr passed away in 2015 before his father, relations within the family soured, leading to a lack of contact between Mr. Ward and Fred Jr.’s side of the family.
Upon Mr. Ward’s passing, a bitter altercation erupted when Terry, his son, disclosed the contents of the will, which largely excluded the five sisters. This confrontation was recorded and presented in court. Subsequently, the sisters were each given an envelope containing £50 in cash by their Uncle Terry, according to MailOnline reports.
Master Brightwell noted that the sisters’ lack of visits to their grandfather in the hospital was partly due to inadequate communication regarding his hospitalisation, which was frequent. Additionally, he mentioned that contact between the parties had ceased regardless. The five sisters had only made infrequent and brief visits to their grandfather, whereas he had maintained a close relationship with his sons Terry and Susan.
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