Man succeeds in argument over 'forged' will
01 Jul 2010
A man who claimed his sister had forged their mother's will so that
she could inherit her estate has succeeded in his legal battle at
the High Court.
Vera Gale, who died in May 2007 aged 87, had written a will in 1994
which decreed that her estate and all her assets - including a GBP
300,000 property in Essex - should be divided up between her
grown-up children Janice Gale and David Gale.
However, she then had a new document drawn up in 2002 which stated
that Janice would inherit everything except her savings, the Daily
Mail reports.
"I wish my daughter to keep the house and everything in the house,"
the will stated.
When their mother died, Mr Gale became suspicious and sought legal
advice in order to have the will overturned, claiming it was
forged.
At the High Court this week, he argued that the late Mrs Gale would
not have changed her will in this way because she did not get on
well with her daughter.
Mr Gale insisted the will had either been forged or that Mrs Gale
had been coerced into agreeing to it while she was ill with
Alzheimer's.
Deputy High Court Judge Jules Sher agreed and has now ordered that
the original will must stand.
Ms Gale will now have to pay 80 per cent of her brother's legal
costs.
Mandeep Chima, a dispute resolution solicitor at Hodge Jones
& Allen LLP, commented: "At Hodge Jones & Allen, our
dispute resolution solicitors are experienced in dealing with
sensitive cases of this nature. We understand that it is a
stressful time for grieving members of a family who are in dispute
over the assets of a loved one. Should you suspect that anyone that
has been influenced to change their will, you can contact a member
of our team for impartial advice."
