Cleaner wins 4 year battle to overturn will

A cleaner has succeeded in a will dispute claim after a bitter four year legal battle.

The case concerned the estate of ex- Savoy Hotel waiter Harold Tickner who died in 2015. Mr Tickner made a will in 2014 leaving the majority of his estate to his cleaner, Leonara Da Costa.

Mrs Da Costa had been Mr Tickner’s cleaner for 11 years. She had initially worked for Mr Tickner and his wife as a cleaner but after Mrs Tickner was diagnosed with dementia, Mrs Da Costa increased her hours to care for the couple. After Mrs Tickner died in 2012, Mrs Da Costa became a full time carer for Mr Tickner (who by that point was registered as blind). The pair became very close and their relationship was akin to a father and daughter relationship.

Mr Tickner was diagnosed with colon cancer and just two weeks before his death in 2015, he made a new will cutting Mrs Da Costa out and leaving his cash to his daughter. At the same time, he prepared a deed gifting his house, in Harrow, to his nephew, Dennis Germain.

Mrs Da Costa’s will dispute claim was put forward on the basis that Mr Tickner would have not understood what he was doing when his will was changed. She also argued that his blindness meant that he would not have been able to read the new will. The High Court Judge declared the 2015 will as invalid finding that Mr Tickner didn’t have the required mental capacity at the time that the disputed will was executed. This means that Mrs Da Costa will receive the cash in Mr Tickner’s estate which is approximately £15,000. This decision paves the way for Mrs Da Costa to challenge the gift made by Mr Ticker of his £500,000 house to his nephew which was made on the same day as the disputed will.

Our contentious probate solicitors say that will disputes have increased significantly over the last few years. This case serves as a reminder for testators to review their wills regularly to reduce the risk of allegations of lack of capacity and to mitigate the risk of a will dispute.

If you would like more information about will dispute claims or if you would like to discuss an inheritance dispute, a dispute with an executor or other contentious probate matter, please call 01384 410410 and ask to speak to Liam Owen or Susan Ford. Alternatively, you can e-mail us at contentiousprobate@georgegreen.co.uk providing a brief overview of the issues you wish to discuss with us, along with your contact details and we will get in touch if we think we may be able to help.