Judge makes shock ruling over who wins £800k after 'stubborn' gran ripped up will on her deathbed

A "stubborn and feisty" 92-year-old who caused a melodramatic court combat erstwhile she ripped up her £800,000 will connected her deathbed did validly destruct the document, leaving her sister with everything, a justice has ruled.

Carry Keats physically ripped three-quarters of the mode done the pages of her volition during her last unwellness successful hospital, creating a household play pitting her 5 distant cousins against her younger sister - with whom she had a "love-hate relationship." Under a Victorian instrumentality passed successful 1837 immoderate idiosyncratic tin legally revoke a volition they person made by ripping it up, truthful agelong arsenic the enactment is carried retired wrong definite guidelines.

If Mrs Keats died without a valid will, her younger sister Josephine Oakley stood to inherit everything she owned. But Mrs Keats' cousins - who would person divided astir of her luck nether the volition - brought a unsocial tribunal challenge, claiming the dying pensioner did not validly revoke it due to the fact that she was excessively anemic to rip the papers each the mode done with her ain hands.

The cousins, headed by David Crew, the lad of Mrs Keats and Mrs Oakley's relative Lucy Whitehorn, said the volition should stand, arsenic Mrs Keats was lone beardown capable to teardrop it three-quarters of the mode through, with the remainder being ripped astatine her petition by her solicitor. They claimed Mrs Keats had wanted to permission her sister thing and that she didn't person the intelligence capableness connected her deathbed to alteration her caput astir who got her luck successful specified a melodramatic fashion.

They besides argued that Mrs Keats' non-verbal "nod" to her solicitor Hafwen Webb to o.k. her completing the tearing of the volition had not been capable to fulfill the instrumentality that she was blessed for the demolition of the volition to beryllium completed by her. Mrs Oakley nevertheless insisted her sister knew what she was doing and had decided to chopped retired her cousins aft they projected putting "proud and autarkic New Forester" Mrs Keats into a nursing home.

Today Deputy Master John Linwood ruled successful favour of Mrs Oakley successful the landmark case, uncovering that Carry had wished to disinherit the cousins and had done truthful lawfully. He said: "In my judgement determination was existent tearing combined with intent...Carry did sufficiently destruct the volition arsenic it was wholly torn successful fractional arsenic she intended.

"I find determination was a affirmative connection and not specified acquiescence, arsenic Carry looked astatine Mrs Webb and responded to her nonstop connection with a carnal bid oregon acquisition reflecting her privation that Mrs Webb should actively assistance her to implicit the tearing successful fractional of the will."

Turning to Mrs Keats' information for her melodramatic alteration of mind, the justice referenced the "fatal" falling retired with her cousins implicit the attraction location connection and quoting a judge's comments from an 1821 volition quality added: “It is 1 of the achy consequences of utmost aged property that it ceases to excite involvement and is apt to beryllium near solitary and neglected. The power which the instrumentality gives to a antheral to dispose of his spot is 1 of the astir businesslike means which helium has successful protracted beingness to bid the attentions owed to his infirmities."

He added: "Nothing successful quality quality has changed implicit the past 200 years since that was said, nor I presume volition it successful the future." London's High Court heard during the proceedings of the lawsuit that Carry Keats died, aged 92, connected 15 February 2022, little than 3 weeks aft tearing up her past volition arsenic she laic dying successful infirmary successful Salisbury.

Mrs Keats, who owned and ran a palmy caravan site, near down an £800,000 fortune, chiefly tied up successful her location and onshore astatine "Carron" successful the Wiltshire colony of Nomansland. Eighteen months earlier, she had made a volition which divided astir everything she owned betwixt 5 distant cousins of hers, 1 of whom - David Crew, her relative erstwhile removed - had been adjacent friends with her and her precocious hubby for decades. The different 4 were David's sister Angela Crew, positive cousins doubly removed Kevin, Jason and Leon Whitehorn.

However, towards the extremity of her life, she grew person to her younger sister Josephine - 9 years her inferior - with whom the tribunal heard she had a "love-hate relationship". The tribunal heard Josephine Oakley accidental that she took her sister roast dinners each Sunday whilst she was inactive astatine location during her past years and visited her successful infirmary astir each time during her last illness.

During the aforesaid play Mrs Keats - who was described successful the judgement arsenic “stubborn” with old-fashioned views, a “feisty aged bird" and a "self capable resilient and arrogant New Forester” - fell retired with David Crew and his sister Angela "after they indicated that they were going to enactment her successful a nursing location if she had different fall," Mrs Oakley's lawyers told the judge. These changes successful the household dynamics led to a melodramatic country successful January 2022, involving the ailing Mrs Keats sending for her agelong clip lawyer Hafwen Webb arsenic she laic successful her deathbed successful Salisbury Hospital and tearing her volition successful beforehand of her.

Simon Sinnatt, for the cousins, told the justice that, nether the Wills Act 1837, for the demolition of the volition to beryllium valid Mrs Keats had to either intentionally afloat destruct the volition herself oregon decently authorise her solicitor to bash so. "Did the deceased sufficiently destruct the will? Did the deceased authorise Hafwen Webb to implicit the demolition oregon acquiesce successful the same? Did the deceased person the requisite volition to destruct the will? If the volition was revoked, did the deceased person the intelligence capableness to bash so?" helium said.

"The completion of the tearing by Hafwen Webb raises a occupation which perchance invalidates her completion of the process for deficiency of authority," helium said. But, uncovering that the volition was legally destroyed with Mrs Keats' authority, the justice successful his ruling contiguous said: "This assertion concerns whether the deceased had capable intelligence capableness to marque a deathbed revocation of her volition by tearing it successful half, thereby causing her property to walk by intestacy to her sister, Mrs Josephine Oakley, arsenic opposed to the different parties to this claim, who are, dissimilar her, beneficiaries nether the will.

"In different words, it is each oregon thing for Mrs Oakley oregon those different parties. Behind this elemental enactment of tearing is enmity successful the wider household involving allegations of undue influence, greed and bullying, with an unseemly scrabble for the assets of the deceased successful the past mates of years of her beingness and aft her death".

He added that the turning constituent successful Mrs Keats' testamentary intentions was, arsenic Josephine's lawyers had argued, "a superior falling retired betwixt Carry and the Crews" implicit them "proposing to enactment her successful a nursing location if she had different fall".

"Carry knew her ain mind," the justice went on. "It is pellucidly wide from the grounds of Mrs Webb that Carry understood her full property would walk to her sister. The beardown tendency to exclude and disinherit the Crews was wide from her instructions 2 months earlier astatine their gathering connected 16th November 2021 I find that Carry had a sufficiently lucid interval during which the revocation took place...I find Carry had capableness successful that constrictive window".

In narration to the "nod" with which she indicated her solicitor should decorativeness treating done the will, the justice said: "In these facts and circumstances, I find determination was a affirmative connection and not specified acquiescence, arsenic Carry looked astatine Mrs Webb and responded to her nonstop connection with a carnal bid oregon acquisition reflecting her privation that Mrs Webb should actively assistance her to implicit the tearing successful fractional of the Will.

"I deliberation it would beryllium artificial not to licence a testator to pass arsenic they wished successful those circumstances astatine that time. The connection indispensable beryllium affirmative and discernible, which I find the motion is successful these factual circumstances and it whitethorn beryllium non-verbal, arsenic here. Carry decently authorised Mrs Webb to implicit the demolition of the volition for the reasons above. Her motion was not a specified acquiescence but a affirmative and discernible non-verbal communication.

"In my judgement determination was existent tearing combined with intent. Carry did sufficiently destruct the volition arsenic it was wholly torn successful fractional arsenic she intended. In summary I find Carry had testamentary capableness to revoke the will, the volition to bash truthful and revoked it by demolition successful accordance with the Wills Act 1837. I truthful disregard the assertion and find for Josephine connected her counterclaim."