Will leaving sisters' inheritance to hairdresser is overturned in court
20 Aug 2010
The family of two elderly sisters whose money was left to their
hairdresser following an alteration to a will have succeeded in
having it overturned in court.
It was reported in July this year that Ethel Willson and Mabel
Cook, who lived together after they were both widowed, had a joint
will that was originally drawn up in 1991.
It stated that their family and close friends would receive their
GBP 400,000 estate, but only when both of them had passed away,
according to the Daily Mail.
Mrs Cook passed away in 1995 and Mrs Willson died in 2006. However,
when the will was revealed, it was discovered that Mrs Willson had
altered it two months prior to her death and that the bulk of her
estate would go to hairdresser Jill Fraser, 72.
Ms Fraser claimed this was fair, as she had been visiting the
elderly sisters for several decades, doing their hair for free. She
also alleged she was the only person to visit Mrs Willson in
hospital when she fell ill.
However, the sisters' family insisted Mrs Willson would not have
wanted the will changed and she was too weak and fragile in her
final months to do so.
They took the case to the High Court and a judge has now agreed
that the original document should stand.
Judge Jonathan Gaunt QC ordered Ms Fraser to pay back the money she
had received from the will, commenting that Mrs Cook and Mrs
Willson "made mutual promises to each other and it was either an
explicit, or implicit, part of those promises that the will of the
survivor would not be altered".
Chun Truong, a specialist in probate dispute law at Hodge Jones
& Allen LLP, commented: "If you are in any doubt that
somebody you know or did know has been influenced - in a negative
way - to change their will then contact a specialist solicitor at
Hodge Jones & Allen and we will give you impartial initial
advice as to whether you have a case worth pursuing."
