In the Press


Peter Cadbury’s legacy leaves a bitter taste

14 August 2008

More than two years after he died, aged 88, the will of the chocolate heir has still not been published and Mandrake hears that all is not well between his widow, Janie, and her stepchildren. Cadbury, who was known as “The Cad”, had five children and one of them tells me: “Wills are always complicated, [...] Read More

We have to wake up to wills before it’s too late

21 July 2008

I feel a lot of sympathy for Christine Gill in her courtroom battle for the estate of her deceased parents, which began last week. After caring for her mother and father for many years, she could reasonably have expected better than to find they had left their estimated £2.3m estate to the RSPCA, which incidentally [...] Read More

Family appeal to recover £10m left to takeaway owners

23 June 2008

A LEEDS man and his cousins have begun a legal appeal for their share of a relative’s £10m fortune. Mervyn Lebor, of Stainburn Avenue, Moor Allerton, wants the will of his aunt, Golda Bechal, in which she left her entire estate to Chinese takeaway owners, to be declared invalid. Yesterday, London’s Court of Appeal heard that [...] Read More

Wills at risk as elderly sell up for care fees

23 June 2008

Thousands of elderly people are being forced to sell their homes to pay for expensive care fees - putting themselves at risk of ending up with outdated wills, according to the Law Society. Prime Minister Gordon Brown recently announced a £6bn shortfall in funding for care, which means that many people will be left to pay [...] Read More

Time to check wills are accurate

23 June 2008

Thousands of wills could need updating as rising care and nursing fees force the elderly to sell their assets to pay for care, the Law Society is warning. It has become a growing trend among those requiring care to sell their home to pay for expensive fees, but the society points out a person’s home is [...] Read More

Business owners risk chaos by not writing wills

19 June 2008

A leading law firm says business owners are risking substantial problems for their business partners and family by failing to make a will. Mace & Jones made its warning, after finding that a large number of male business owners in their 30s and 40s have not made wills. This anecdotal experience is reinforced by research from [...] Read More

Where there’s a will there’s a way

19 June 2008

CHANCES are you haven’t even thought of writing a will yet. The very thought of it can often seem macabre, while some people think it’s only the rich that need to bother. If so then you’re not alone, as two-thirds of the UK population has no written will at all. Most of us still seem to think [...] Read More

Battle for Inheritance

17 June 2008

G.D. writes: My partner’s brother died on his way to New Zealand to visit another brother.  Their younger sister claims there is a will saying she is to inherit the house and contents.  She says she has a document naming her as his next of kin.  No will has been produced and we know it [...] Read More

Son of multi-millionaire accused of forging his father’s will to leave out his mistress

17 June 2008

During their 15 years together, elderly businessman Jimmy Swanston always assured his younger lover that she would be looked after when he had gone. So when the multi-millionaire died leaving her nothing, Pat Powell immediately suspected she had been cheated out of her inheritance. Those suspicions unfolded in a courtroom as the businessman’s son denied [...] Read More

‘Genteel’ spinster leaves museum £2m in her will - The Herald

13 March 2008

‘Genteel’ spinster leaves museum £2m in her will An unassuming pensioner who spent much of her life browsing at Scotland’s National Museum has surprised officials by leaving the institution £2m in her will. Adele Stewart, a spinster who lived a modest life in a terrace house in Edinburgh, died aged 79 in 2006. Read More

128bit SSL Accepted cards
Dell Microsoft Basda