Frederick Ward Snr’s will was challenged in court by five of his grandchildren (Picture: Champion News)
A disappointed grandad who was upset that his grandchildren didn’t visit him very often was entitled to leave them just £50 each in his will, a judge has ruled.
Frederick Ward Snr sparked a family feud after he left almost all of his £500,000 fortune, including his flat worth £450,000, to two of his children when he died in 2020.
He had discounted his dead son Fred Jr’s five daughters, and told his lawyers he was upset they hadn’t visited him after he’d been hospitalised three times with a lung condition.
But after learning they’d been all but disinherited, Fred’s five granddaughters – Carol Gowing, Angela St Marseille, Amanda Higginbotham, Christine Ward and Janet Pett – sued and claimed they were entitled to a third of their late grandad’s money.
High Court judge Master James Brightwell has now ruled the 2018 will was ‘entirely rational, adding that the grandchildren had ‘very limited contact’ with their ‘disappointed’ grandfather.
Throwing out their case, Master Brightwell said: ‘Some may take the view that, as a general proposition, when a testator’s child has predeceased him, he generally ought to leave an equal share of his residue to that child’s issue.
The judge ruled he was entitled to live his granddaughters £50 each (Picture: Champion News)
Angela St Marseille (Picture: Champion News)
Christine Ward (Picture: Champion News)
‘However, the decision not to do so and to split the residue and thus the bulk of the estate between his surviving children can hardly be said to be provision which no reasonable testator could make.’
The sisters argued that the 2018 will was ‘invalid’ and their Uncle Terry Ward and Aunt Susan Wiltshire had ‘unduly influenced’ their grandfather into changing his will to give them their share of his estate.
But Judge Brightwell said ‘the evidence does not come close to persuading me’ that Terry had ‘coerced’ his father or that Susan had ‘controlled’ him such as to cast doubt on his will.
Fred Snr had previously made a will which split his estate between all three of his children.
But Fred Jr died before his dad in 2015, following which the family fell out and Mr Ward did not see much of Fred Jr’s side of the family.
When Mr Ward’s will was read out by Terry after his death, a bitter shouting match broke out – which was recorded and played to the court – when it was revealed the five sisters had been all but cut out.
They were each handed an envelope containing £50 in cash by their Uncle Terry, MailOnline reports.
Amanda Higginbotham (Picture: Champion News)
Carol Gowing (Picture: Champion News)
Janet Pett (Picture: Champion News)
Master Brightwell said the sisters had not visited their grandfather in hospital because they were not informed he was there, but that was because of how often he was admitted and also ‘because contact between the parties had stopped in any event’.
The five sisters had made only ‘very occasional short visits’ to see their grandfather, while he was on close terms with his son Terry and Susan.
‘It is most likely that given the changed circumstances following Fred Jr’s death and the limited contact with the claimants after then that Fred became disappointed with the claimants,’ Master Brightwell said.
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Clearing both Terry and Susan of influencing their dad into cutting out his granddaughters, he said: ‘The evidence does not come close to persuading me that it is more likely than not that the 2018 will was procured by the undue influence of the defendants or either of them.’
The judge also rejected claims that Mr Ward did not have ‘capacity’ to make the will in 2018 or that it was invalid for ‘want of knowledge and approval’ of its effect.
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