An electrician in the United Kingdom has won 700,000 pounds (Rs 7,86,00620) in property and cash and will fight after a video emerged of his younger sister holding and “propelling” their dying mother’s hand as she signed over her fortune on her deathbed, according to The Independent.
In this dramatic legal battle, a will signed by 76-year-old Margaret Baverstock, who was gravely ill, has been ruled invalid after a judge saw video footage showing her daughter, Lisa, guiding her mother’s hand to sign the document. Margaret, who could barely move at the time, signed a will in March 2021 that cut out her son, John Baverstock, and left everything to Lisa, including her property in Herne Hill, South London, as per the news portal.
John, now 61, was left nothing from his late mother’s estate when she passed away just eight days later. He contested the will, arguing that the signing, captured on video, was not an independent act of his mother but rather the result of Lisa’s manipulation. The footage showed Lisa physically moving her mother’s hand to sign the document, which John claimed made the will invalid.
After reviewing the video evidence, the judge agreed with John’s claim, ruling that the will was not executed properly. As a result, John has been awarded half of the estate, overturning his sister’s claim to their mother’s wealth.
According to The Metro, Judge Jane Evans-Gordon agreed that Margaret had no idea what was going on – having been diagnosed with dementia in 2021 – and declared the will invalid.
As a result, the judge found that Margaret died intestate, so the brother and sister must share the assets 50/50. Lisa will also have to pay John’s 80,000-pound legal bill.
The footage showed Margaret could barely talk and was only able to respond by saying ‘yeah’ or grunting.
Speaking on behalf of John, barrister Mark Jones said Lisa was ‘repeatedly attempting to place a pen into her mother’s right hand in a manner by which the deceased could hold or grip the same.
