Two brothers have been disinherited and lost their battle for a share of the family’s £2.65m farm after it was left to the owner’s daughters in order to keep it in the family.
John and Steven Maile went to court after their grandmother cut them out of her inheritance and instead left the family farm to her daughters; John and Steven’s mother Ruth, and aunt Sheila.
The row erupted after the brothers claimed they has been promised the farm in Devon by their grandmother; and had invested ‘long hours’ for little more than ‘pocket money’ on the mixed arable and dairy farm.
Despite including the brothers in a 2011 Will, grandmother Mary Stevens updated her Will in 2016 leaving the estate to her children, although the brothers got to keep the livestock.
In court the brothers claimed grandmother Mary was the victim of undue influence as the aunt, Sheila Maile, cooked up a ‘cunning plan with her mother’s solicitor to force the deceased into leaving the farm to her daughters,’ also alleging that Mary lacked “testamentary capacity” and that there was a lack of “knowledge and approval” on her part.
The farm had been in the family for nearly 100 years with the brothers adamant a share of it was promised to them over many years, expecting their efforts to be rewarded.
Bu the High Court in Bristol has thrown out the claim with Mr Justice Green unconvinced by the brothers’ claims. He said the the case was ‘largely pressed by John, probably together with his mother’, adding – ‘he is very determined to get what he believes is rightfully his and his brother’s’. The brothers” mother Ruth sided with them on the claim.
Mr Justice Green noted John Maile’s ‘scheming’ and ‘intimidating’ behaviour during the family strife. The court heard how he had secretly begun taping conversations with his grandmother when he learned of the 2016 codicil which disinherited him and his brother. Steven Maile was, by contrast, more ‘reserved’, said the judge, and seemed ‘more prepared to accept if his grandmother decided to be fair to both sides of the family and ultimately opted to leave everything to her daughters equally’.
John, Steven and Mother Ruth testified that Mary had told them, ‘I think I’ve done something I should not have done’ in relation to cutting out her grandsons, and that she consistently talked about wanting to change her will in their favour again.
But the judge said it was clear that Mary had simply stuck to her guns despite pressure from John, although she may have said things simply to ‘placate’ him.
“She never did try to change her will back so as to leave the farm to the claimants,”
“John’s displeasure at the removal of the gift of the farm to him and his brother is palpable and I believe was felt by the deceased. She was already sensitive to John’s unhappiness with the situation, but I think she knew what she was doing. She was saying things to placate her grandson, but had no intention of changing her mind.”
Claims the brothers had worked for ‘pocket money’ were also dismissed as the judge said it was ‘misleading’ adding the oral evidence suggested the claimants had substantial savings, most of which were put into the Maile partnership.
Turning to the brothers’ accusations that their aunt, Sheila, ‘secretly arranged’ for Mary to meet up with the family’s lawyer in February 2016 to get the two siblings written out of their inheritance, the judge labelled the claim against the solicitor ‘extraordinary’ and ruled that the undue influence accusation ‘should never have been made’.
“I do not detect that there was some cunning plan by Sheila, even less so by [Mary’s solicitor], to persuade the deceased to move away from the 2011 codicil. In summary, I find that there were no clear and unequivocal representations or assurances that the deceased would be leaving the farm to the claimants in her will.”
The judge rejected John and Steven’s challenge to the 2016 will codicil and ordered them, their mother and dad Peter Maile to give up possession of the farm to Aunt Sheila as executrix of Mary’s estate.
