Professor Christoper Gosden, Director of the Institute of Archaeology at Oxford University, is locked in a High Court battle over the £1.25 million Kensington estate that was promised to him by his deceased mother.
This tragic tale has erupted following his mother, Ms Weddell, falling in love with barrister, Wendy Cook, who was 37 years younger than her.
The whirlwind romance culminated in Ms Weddell dissolving the Will that would have left everything to her son. Instead, the couple formed a civil partnership in 2007. Having died in 2013, aged 84, Ms Weddell’s estate had been whittled down to nothing.
Following the passing of his mother, the Oxford don discovered that the Kensington home, now worth £1.25 million was sold without his knowledge in 2010.
After making the Will in 2003, Ms Weddell set up a family trust to mimimise inheritance tax. Ms Weddell named Professor Gosden as the beneficiary and both himself and his wife as executors of her estate. Gosden claims that the trust scheme should have protected the property from sale and informed him, as executor, if the property was going to be sold.
However, in 2010, Ms Weddell made a new Will, leaving the majority of her estate to Wendy Cook. Despite expecting to inherit £1.25 million, only £5,000 remained.
Gosden and his wife are now suing the solicitors that he finds responsible for creating the trust agreement. He claims that there was an overwhelming loophole that allowed his mother to sell the house without notifying the executors of the Will.
The professor claims that he should have been advised to take a ‘protective step’ registering a restriction that would prevent the house from being sold.
Katherine McQuail, representing the solicitors, said: “The claimants’ remedy for any step taken by Ms Weddell in breach of contract or in breach of trust was to sue her for such breach.”
The solicitors claim that it was not their responsibility to notify the beneficiaries and that the trust was not set up as a ‘transfer of property.’ They were therefore under no obligation to flag warning signs as it was a sale at the owner’s discretion.
The legal firm remain steadfast that they have not acted negligently or in breach of contract. However, the case went before the High Court last week for a pre-trial. The four-day trial will commence at some point in 2019.
Have you experienced similar cases in the past? What is the best way to seal with difficult family probate issues?
