Don’t keep it in the family: Chef left £5M wins battle to keep it after a claim was raised by the sister of the deceased

Another fascinating inheritance dispute hits the headlines.

Businessman David Turner left his £5m fortune to a burger bar chef (Mr Jones) whom he had befriended. Mr Turner had been estranged from his sister for nearly a decade, and there was evidence Mr Turner had a grievance against his sister after she sold her half share in the 14-acre roadside plot to a property development company.

However, his sister alleged that it could not be proved that her brother had not destroyed his original will after changing his mind about who he wanted to inherit, meaning she would inherit under the laws of intestacy.

However, Counsel for Mr Jones highlighted a document recording Mr Turner’s instructions around the time of his will, in which he stated that neither his sister nor his ex-partner should have “any beneficial interest in my money, property or chattels – the reason for this is the way I have been treated by two conniving b*s”.

The Court upheld the 2013 will. There was no evidence he ever tried to make a new will or tore up the original.

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This post references an article published in The Daily Mail.