A warring family has seen their roles as executors to their grandmother’s estate removed by the High Court in London after being told they were ‘not able (to) fairly and conscientiously to carry out the administration of (the) estate in a proper manner.’
The case relates to the estate of Dorothy Jahme, who died aged 97, leaving an estate valued at around £400,000, mainly bound up in her home in Axminster, Devon. Her daughters, Carole Jahme, 61, and Patricia Tonge, 72 are contesting the estate and having reached a deadlock over its management, have ended up in the High Court in a case which has seen Patricia Tonge, successfully remove Carole Jahme as executor.
Nathan Wells, barrister for Patricia Tonge and her daughter, Samantha Tonge, said Carole Jahme had displayed “irrational hostility” towards Patricia in recent times – having raised unfounded accusations of childhood cruelty, focusing on “an incident in which she tied a plastic bag around her head” – a claim to which Wells said there is no truth.
A dispute over the cause of death on the death certificate delayed burial for four months after Carole Jahme ‘insisted’ the cause of death should be recorded as Covid 19 and not pneumonia and dementia; behaviour which the barrister said was inappropriate for her executor role.
“Her position was that the burial should not be held until the death certificate was changed. She explained that she didn’t believe the burial should take place until the cause of death was ascertained.’
Me Wells went on to add there were questions marks over transactions from Dorothy Lahme’s bank account at a time when Carole had power of attorney over her mum’s affairs, and so might have had a conflict of interest. One transaction fro a pairo f sunglasses purchased in Portugal raised alarm bells as it was made when Dorothy Jahme was aged 94 and not in the habit of jetting abroad. Wells told the court
“The claimants went through Dorothy’s statements, setting out the transactions which require some kind of explanation – and looking at some of the payments on their face, they don’t appear to be for the direct benefit of the deceased. They appear to either benefit Carole or her family.”
Carole Jahme was also accused of failing to engage with with her sister and daughter as co-executors of Dorothy’s will, which thwarted it being put into effect.
After a two-hour hearing, Master Katherine McQuail agreed there were grounds for stripping the executor roles, although stressed: “it’s not for me to find facts or resolve disputes and wrongdoing”. McQuail added Carole Jahme was not able to ‘fairly and conscientiously to carry out the administration of this estate in a proper manner.’ On the concerns over handling of finances McQuail said
“These matters, although I make no finding, do seem to give rise to real questions and to making a claim with a real prospect of success.”
At the end of the hearing, the judge removed Carole Jahme and her son as executors, directing they should be replaced by a professional lawyer who will act as executor in their place.
