A woman has successfully challenged her late father's will after he left her just £250, claiming she was 'bad tempered' and had 'failed in her sense of duty'. Bhavenetta Stewart-Brown, 52, took her case to the High Court after her father Laxmikant Patel bequeathed his £600,000 house to her older sister Anju Patel, 58, in his final will.
Mr Patel, who died aged 85 in October 2021, left his younger daughter and his son Piyush Patel, 62, just £250 each. The will, made just two months before his death while he was terminally ill in hospital, replaced an earlier 2019 will that divided the estate equally among his three children, with a 1% share to a charitable trust.
Deputy Master Jason Raeburn ruled the 2021 will invalid, describing its circumstances as 'highly suspicious'. He found there was no evidence that the witnesses signed the document at the same time using the same pen, meaning it lacked 'due execution'. The court also heard Mr Patel struggled with English and may not have understood the terms.
Bhavenetta's legal team argued that Anju had isolated their father and controlled access to him, particularly during his final hospital stay. Barrister Tim Sherwin told the court there was 'a clear pattern of isolation and control' by Anju and her husband. Anju denied this, claiming she had a 'close and loving relationship' with her parents.
The judge upheld the 2019 will, which gives each child a one-third share of the estate. Mr Patel, a former Ford worker who migrated from Uganda in the 1970s, had previously split his estate equally in both 2018 and 2019 wills, making the sudden change 'most odd', according to Bhavenetta's barrister.
