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Firstly, please excuse the length of my first post but I do need to provide the context around this case. This case relates to my wife's late father's estate and involves her brother, his wife and her mother.
Father (the deceased) was diagnosed with Alzheimer's around Jan 2020. Up until this point, the father used to run a very successful business along with his wife for the last 40 years - his son for the last 10 years would help run it too. My wife lives about an hour away from her parents / brother and prior to marriage used to help run the business also.
At around the time of the diagnosis (Jan 2020), the brother and his wife took out an LPA over decisions relating to the father's finances and health. My wife was not informed about this until much later on, possibly after the first Covid lockdown was lifted. My wife was unaware that his wife was named on the LPA until very recently, when we made an enquiry with the OPG.
On our visits to the parents, we started noticing some unusual patterns - the brother and his wife seemed to buying a lot of expensive clothes and shoes (really high-end fashion, costing anywhere between £500-£2k). We also noticed that the pair had bought themselves TWO high-end cars each costing £100k+. At the same time, the brother's wife stopped working her regular permanent job. They moved the mother out of the business and started getting external staff to run it (much against the father's previous wishes - it was something he took pride in running himself along with his family and something he had built up from scratch). The pair then started to go on vacations - Dubai, Italy, Spain, Greece, Morocco, Barbados between the end of 2020 and the end of 2021 (and those were the holidays we knew about - there may well have been more). Because we didn't live nearby, we weren't privy to what was going on day to day and heard the odd update from the mother.
Around the same time, they moved the parents out of the house they'd lived in for 40 years and moved them to a bungalow, that was bought in the wife's name, a few months after the LPA was registered. In addition, they purchased another property at the same time (for rental purposes) - also in the wife's name. At the same time, they refurbished and extended the bungalow that was purchased to a high-end spec. They also refurbished the parent's old house of 40 years and converted them into high-end HMO's units, each with their own en-suite shower and started renting those out privately as well. They also took over the financial income that was generated from the business. The father had a huge portfolio of shares - these seemed to disappear. He also held several high-value bank accounts overseas.
Obviously this was very concerning to us - when we queried the mother and father as to what was going on, they would largely stay silent. The brother and his wife would largely avoid seeing us when we came to visit around the end of 2020 to 2021 - they would stay away from bungalow. My wife and myself wanted to report them to the OPG and having taken advice about this and possibility of criminal action that could follow, we felt that was a huge step and could split the family permanently. We instead spoke to close family friends who we thought we trusted and raised our suspicions. This was a mistake by us as these friends went directly to the brother and told him what we told them in confidence. The parents after this became even more withdrawn and closed off, especially the mother.
The father sadly passed away last year (Feb 2023). We obviously had our suspicions when the father was alive that the brother and his wife were siphoning off and spending the father's estate. But we had no real proof. So we instructed a solicitor, first to register a caveat and then to determine if the father had a new will (he previously made a will in 2012 but it was unsigned - in that unsigned will he left 50% of his estate to his wife, with the remaining to be split between brother and sister 65:35 - although without trying complicate things too much, that was to be revised more evenly to 55:45 at the behest of the father). This unsigned will was kept by the father's best friend of 50 years - the friend was the named executor on this unsigned will and was also privy to much of what the father had in his estate. It turns out that new will had been made 2 months before the father died, naming the brother and his wife as both executors and trustees. This new will left everything in the estate to the brother - not a penny to the mother and only a small half share in a separate run-down commercial property to my wife, which represented a tiny fraction of the father's entire estate. My wife then received the Schedule of Assets on which only the business and two other properties that father separately owned were listed, together with some UK bank accounts he had. No mention of the huge share portfolio he had, nor the overseas bank accounts he had owned and the other more liquid assets that he had held.
At this point, it was clear to us in black and white, that brother and his wife had been scheming all the while, had coerced the parents to keep quiet and had largely been living a lavish lifestyle, all whilst the father was deteriorating with Alzheimer's. The solicitor that we had instructed above was an ACTAPS-registered and specialised in contentious litigation. He sought to retrieve the will file, which we eventually got and within it, we found that the brother and his wife were present at all times during the will drafting and signing. No medical opinion was sought on the father (this was now almost 3 years after father was first diagnosed). The GP notes that our solicitor retrieved stated the father was getting angry, confused, suffered from Sundown Syndrome and was heavily consuming alcohol. The so-called Golden Rule was not followed and a Larke v Nugus request was issued and responded to. We sought the professional opinion of a respected clinical Professor in his role as a Capacity Expert and he stated that on the balance of probability, the father lacked testamentary capacity at the time of signing the will.
A warning was issued from the brother relating to our caveat extension after 6 months and we filed an Appearance. Our solicitor then issued a Letter of Claim, detailing the evidence relating Golden Rule, Larke v Nugus, the capacity expert's opinion, the GP notes, the LPA being registered in both the brother and his wife's name, the timeline of expenditure and that warning that a large part of the estate had not been declared. They responded feebly to it but framed their response to my wife's claim around their star witness - the mother - who said she is willing to testify on behalf of the brother and his wife and is willing to state the extent of the estate is as declared. It's our personal view, that the mother has been lied to, made to feel scared and vulnerable - that this is now her new life (now that the husband has passed away). She does not have any income, bank cards, the brother holds her passport - she effectively is living and answering to the brother (and his wife). In the response to the claim also, they said they did not believe mediation (ADR) was suitable at this time.
My wife having lived away from her parents for over 10 years now, at the time of the father's passing, did not have any information relating to the father's assets - specifically the the shareholdings and overseas accounts. The brother and his wife, who had access to his parents property everyday, would have done. It's quite possible that they have transferred the assets to their names, whilst the father was alive. We also know the brother has made very recent trips to countries that the father had overseas accounts, having never travelled there before. In one social media post 2 months after the father died, we have a picture of him smiling with the bank manager (of one of the father's overseas accounts), sipping champagne, fine dining at a five star hotel with the bank manager present on separate occasions.
Having spoken to an experienced Counsel, if were to proceed to court, the case largely rests on my wife proving the father had these accounts. This is almost impossible with the mother the way she is being and the fact obviously they won't admit they have done anything. The best friend of the father does not look like he wants to get involved and is unlikely to provide a witness statement. So my wife is at the point where she issues proceedings but that is potentially fraught with jeopardy given virtually no proof of the father's true extent of his estate and potential to run up (worst case) a legal bill in the region of £300k if my wife loses. I always make the point to my solicitor that if the court could order the opening up and force full disclosure of the brother and his wife's bank accounts, they would almost certainly be in trouble - as it would hard to justify the sudden new-found wealth income and expenditure, particularly when the two aren't working.
I believe the caveat is still in place, as we filed our Appearance. My wife is seriously considering taking the risk-averse route and accepting the "father's last will" rather than proceeding to court. We welcome any thoughts on next steps, chances if we were to issue proceedings and in particular, how we can obtain an order to open up the brother's accounts. If we issue proceedings, would that likely force him into ADR / mediation (appreciate no one can actually answer that).
(On a side note, we also are aware that he is being investigated and/or has received a fine by HMRC for monies received into his account. It's also (very likely) forced him into declaring the father's business as a Limited Company from sole trader status).
Father (the deceased) was diagnosed with Alzheimer's around Jan 2020. Up until this point, the father used to run a very successful business along with his wife for the last 40 years - his son for the last 10 years would help run it too. My wife lives about an hour away from her parents / brother and prior to marriage used to help run the business also.
At around the time of the diagnosis (Jan 2020), the brother and his wife took out an LPA over decisions relating to the father's finances and health. My wife was not informed about this until much later on, possibly after the first Covid lockdown was lifted. My wife was unaware that his wife was named on the LPA until very recently, when we made an enquiry with the OPG.
On our visits to the parents, we started noticing some unusual patterns - the brother and his wife seemed to buying a lot of expensive clothes and shoes (really high-end fashion, costing anywhere between £500-£2k). We also noticed that the pair had bought themselves TWO high-end cars each costing £100k+. At the same time, the brother's wife stopped working her regular permanent job. They moved the mother out of the business and started getting external staff to run it (much against the father's previous wishes - it was something he took pride in running himself along with his family and something he had built up from scratch). The pair then started to go on vacations - Dubai, Italy, Spain, Greece, Morocco, Barbados between the end of 2020 and the end of 2021 (and those were the holidays we knew about - there may well have been more). Because we didn't live nearby, we weren't privy to what was going on day to day and heard the odd update from the mother.
Around the same time, they moved the parents out of the house they'd lived in for 40 years and moved them to a bungalow, that was bought in the wife's name, a few months after the LPA was registered. In addition, they purchased another property at the same time (for rental purposes) - also in the wife's name. At the same time, they refurbished and extended the bungalow that was purchased to a high-end spec. They also refurbished the parent's old house of 40 years and converted them into high-end HMO's units, each with their own en-suite shower and started renting those out privately as well. They also took over the financial income that was generated from the business. The father had a huge portfolio of shares - these seemed to disappear. He also held several high-value bank accounts overseas.
Obviously this was very concerning to us - when we queried the mother and father as to what was going on, they would largely stay silent. The brother and his wife would largely avoid seeing us when we came to visit around the end of 2020 to 2021 - they would stay away from bungalow. My wife and myself wanted to report them to the OPG and having taken advice about this and possibility of criminal action that could follow, we felt that was a huge step and could split the family permanently. We instead spoke to close family friends who we thought we trusted and raised our suspicions. This was a mistake by us as these friends went directly to the brother and told him what we told them in confidence. The parents after this became even more withdrawn and closed off, especially the mother.
The father sadly passed away last year (Feb 2023). We obviously had our suspicions when the father was alive that the brother and his wife were siphoning off and spending the father's estate. But we had no real proof. So we instructed a solicitor, first to register a caveat and then to determine if the father had a new will (he previously made a will in 2012 but it was unsigned - in that unsigned will he left 50% of his estate to his wife, with the remaining to be split between brother and sister 65:35 - although without trying complicate things too much, that was to be revised more evenly to 55:45 at the behest of the father). This unsigned will was kept by the father's best friend of 50 years - the friend was the named executor on this unsigned will and was also privy to much of what the father had in his estate. It turns out that new will had been made 2 months before the father died, naming the brother and his wife as both executors and trustees. This new will left everything in the estate to the brother - not a penny to the mother and only a small half share in a separate run-down commercial property to my wife, which represented a tiny fraction of the father's entire estate. My wife then received the Schedule of Assets on which only the business and two other properties that father separately owned were listed, together with some UK bank accounts he had. No mention of the huge share portfolio he had, nor the overseas bank accounts he had owned and the other more liquid assets that he had held.
At this point, it was clear to us in black and white, that brother and his wife had been scheming all the while, had coerced the parents to keep quiet and had largely been living a lavish lifestyle, all whilst the father was deteriorating with Alzheimer's. The solicitor that we had instructed above was an ACTAPS-registered and specialised in contentious litigation. He sought to retrieve the will file, which we eventually got and within it, we found that the brother and his wife were present at all times during the will drafting and signing. No medical opinion was sought on the father (this was now almost 3 years after father was first diagnosed). The GP notes that our solicitor retrieved stated the father was getting angry, confused, suffered from Sundown Syndrome and was heavily consuming alcohol. The so-called Golden Rule was not followed and a Larke v Nugus request was issued and responded to. We sought the professional opinion of a respected clinical Professor in his role as a Capacity Expert and he stated that on the balance of probability, the father lacked testamentary capacity at the time of signing the will.
A warning was issued from the brother relating to our caveat extension after 6 months and we filed an Appearance. Our solicitor then issued a Letter of Claim, detailing the evidence relating Golden Rule, Larke v Nugus, the capacity expert's opinion, the GP notes, the LPA being registered in both the brother and his wife's name, the timeline of expenditure and that warning that a large part of the estate had not been declared. They responded feebly to it but framed their response to my wife's claim around their star witness - the mother - who said she is willing to testify on behalf of the brother and his wife and is willing to state the extent of the estate is as declared. It's our personal view, that the mother has been lied to, made to feel scared and vulnerable - that this is now her new life (now that the husband has passed away). She does not have any income, bank cards, the brother holds her passport - she effectively is living and answering to the brother (and his wife). In the response to the claim also, they said they did not believe mediation (ADR) was suitable at this time.
My wife having lived away from her parents for over 10 years now, at the time of the father's passing, did not have any information relating to the father's assets - specifically the the shareholdings and overseas accounts. The brother and his wife, who had access to his parents property everyday, would have done. It's quite possible that they have transferred the assets to their names, whilst the father was alive. We also know the brother has made very recent trips to countries that the father had overseas accounts, having never travelled there before. In one social media post 2 months after the father died, we have a picture of him smiling with the bank manager (of one of the father's overseas accounts), sipping champagne, fine dining at a five star hotel with the bank manager present on separate occasions.
Having spoken to an experienced Counsel, if were to proceed to court, the case largely rests on my wife proving the father had these accounts. This is almost impossible with the mother the way she is being and the fact obviously they won't admit they have done anything. The best friend of the father does not look like he wants to get involved and is unlikely to provide a witness statement. So my wife is at the point where she issues proceedings but that is potentially fraught with jeopardy given virtually no proof of the father's true extent of his estate and potential to run up (worst case) a legal bill in the region of £300k if my wife loses. I always make the point to my solicitor that if the court could order the opening up and force full disclosure of the brother and his wife's bank accounts, they would almost certainly be in trouble - as it would hard to justify the sudden new-found wealth income and expenditure, particularly when the two aren't working.
I believe the caveat is still in place, as we filed our Appearance. My wife is seriously considering taking the risk-averse route and accepting the "father's last will" rather than proceeding to court. We welcome any thoughts on next steps, chances if we were to issue proceedings and in particular, how we can obtain an order to open up the brother's accounts. If we issue proceedings, would that likely force him into ADR / mediation (appreciate no one can actually answer that).
(On a side note, we also are aware that he is being investigated and/or has received a fine by HMRC for monies received into his account. It's also (very likely) forced him into declaring the father's business as a Limited Company from sole trader status).
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