A millionaire aristocrat is locked in a court battle with his mother over what will happen to the family’s 230-year-old country estate following the divorce from his father.
William Reeve, 38, collapsed in court after claiming that the Leadenham Estate in Lincolnshire is being put at risk because of the acrimonious divorce battle involving his parents.
The country estate, including over 3,000 acres and 24-bedroom home, has been in the Reeve family since it was built in the 1790s and is currently owned by William’s father, Peter Reeve after being passed down through the generations.
Henrietta Reeve petitioned to divorce Peter Reeve in 2011, which created the inevitable problem of how to divide the estate.
Initially, a decision had been made to partition the estate so that Henrietta would own a 40% stake and Peter Reeve acquiring the rest.
It was later agreed that the estate would be sold, with £1million being paid to all four of the Reeve children. Any remaining money would be split between Peter, who would receive 60%, and Henrietta taking the remaining 40%.
However, the 2013 agreement has since been changed so that the pair will hold their percentage in shares as opposed to a cash lump sum.
William Reeve believes this places the estate in a precarious and uncertain situation. In 2015, he made an initial claim on the estate, insisting that the estate was being held on trust to himself. The case was heard by Judge Jane-Anne Evans-Gordon.
Evans-Gordon also presided over the divorce proceedings involving his parents. Following the Judge rejecting his claims in July, William has appealed the decision because he views the judge’s views as bias following the unfair content about him revealed in the divorce case.
The closed divorce case meant that William was unable to attend. It was later revealed that his mother’s testimony regarding William was less than flattering and may have influenced the decision of the Judge in his initial case.
Anxious that the current agreement will result in the sale and fragmentation of the estate, Old Etonian, William Reeve has initiated a Court of Appeal battle with the hopes of saving the estate from slipping through the family’s clutches.
William Reeve currently manages the estate, he said: “The goal of my case is to keep the estate together. My primary aim is securing the future.
“It is a pattern, I say, where I get referenced so frequently, and generally negatively, by my mother in the matrimonial proceedings.
“Even now, the threat on Leadenham House is still huge.” He claims that separating the house will make it financially nonviable to maintain the historic estate.
Lord Justice Baker and lord Justice Floyd have now delayed their decision on the challenge until a later date.
Lord Justice Baker told commented: “It is obviously a tragedy for your family what has happened. It is very sad, indeed.”
Does there need to be greater consideration in cases involving historic estates? Should there be more power for beneficiaries in these matters?
