In a recent case reported by the BBC, a GP named as Thomas Kwan disguised himself in an attempt to lethally inject his mother’s partner of 20 years over an inheritance dispute.
It was reported that his mother known as Jenny Leung had made a Will leaving her home in Newcastle to her partner of 20 years, Mr. O’Hara, with it then passing to her Children after Mr. O’Hara’s death. Mr. O’Hara for the remainder of his life would be benefitting from what is known as a “life interest,” where a beneficiary, known as the “life tenant” is granted the right to receive any income generated by the property or to simply reside in it for the rest of their lifetime or until they abandon the property.
It is reported that Kwan was obsessed with money and the idea of inheriting, so he therefore did not want to wait for Mr. O’Hara’s eventual death before being able to inherit from his mother’s Estate. As modern families become more blended and complex, life interests are becoming increasingly popular. The extreme and unlawful lengths that Mr Kwan went to in order to try to expedite coming into his inheritance early were, fortunately, unsuccessful as Mr. O’Hara survived the attempt on his life.
If Mr Kwan had sought legal advice upon finding out that he, along with his siblings, were only to inherit the family home when his mother’s partner of 20 years died, he would have been advised that there were more favourable options that he could have explored in order to challenge the Will.
These options could include challenging the validity of the Will if Mr Kwan had concerns surrounding the following: lack of testamentary capacity, undue influence, improper execution and/or ambiguity in terms or fraud.
Another option where the validity of the Will is not challenged is a claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 as Mr Kwan and his siblings were the biological children of the Deceased. As such they would be eligible to bring a claim on the basis that the Will did not make reasonable financial provision for them at which point the court would weigh a number of relevant factors in determining their claim.
Get in Touch
mfg Solicitors includes a specialist contentious probate team which acts for clients both nationally and internationally and has been consistently ranked in the top tier of the Legal 500 for the last 7 years including partners Robert Weston of the “Hall of Fame” and Andrew Chandler ranked “Next Generation Partner”.
For more information, please contact Sophie Inchley by emailing Sophie.inchley@mfgsolicitors.com, or call our Kidderminster branch on 01562 820181.
Comments