Wills can lead to major disputes within and between families, so it is no surprise that in some cases people turn to legal solicitors to help them argue their cases.

Highlighting the potentially complex nature of these matters, it recently emerged that a row has broken out between the relatives of a pensioner who committed suicide days after changing her will.

Details

In the amended version of the will, Lucie Rose named 23-year-old Sharnika Pillai, the daughter of her doctor Chittaranjan Pillai, as one of two beneficiaries. The other beneficiary was a financial advisor. This version was completed just days before she was found dead at her home in November 2010. The 87-year-old killed herself shortly after her husband, John, died of cancer.

Originally, her estate was to be divided among her two surviving sisters, who live in Germany. However, solicitors acting on behalf of the estate discovered that the pensioner had cut her sisters out of her will.

Dr Pillai, who works as a GP at the Plains View Surgery in Nottinghamshire, treated both Ms Rose and her husband for many years before their deaths.

It is understood that Ms Rose’s family have reached an agreement with the financial advisor, but one of her sisters, ElkeSchmaing, is demanding an investigation into the amended will. It is her belief that her sibling was not of sound mind when she signed the document.

Justice

Commenting on her motivation for seeking an investigation, Ms Schmaing said: “I just want justice, I can’t believe what has happened. I’ve known my sister for a lifetime and this wasn’t like her.”

However, notes from the solicitors who drew up the new will show that she wanted to leave her £250,000 bungalow “to her doctor”. In the final notes, this was amended to his daughter. Meanwhile, the notes also state: “She [Mrs Rose] has decided to leave the property and all its contents and her late husband’s car to her doctor at Plains View Surgery.”

In addition, they say that Ms Rose was of “sound mind”. However, while the notes begin with Ms Rose referring to her sisters in Germany, by the end of the documents, she is quoted as stating that she has “no living relatives”.

Meanwhile, an inquest into her death has raised concerns over the way in which the case was handled. Coroner Mairin Casey criticised police for losing the pensioner’s suicide note.

That said, in her summary she stated that while “there may well have been a suggestion that she and perhaps her husband were vulnerable to influence from an outside third party”, she made “no finding on this issue” and agreed that Ms Rose was of sound mind.

Talking about the police’s role in the case, Inspector Gail Hart from Carlton Police Station said: “The note left by Lucie Rose was regrettably lost in our systems and we apologise for the distress this may have caused her family. We carried out a full investigation into Lucie Rose’s death and passed the case file to the coroner.”

Heading online

Anyone who is keen to seek legal advice concerning wills can now access the assistance of lawyers online. This is a quick and convenient approach.

About the Author – Anna Longdin is a freelance blogger who has written extensively on the subject of wills and probate for a range of websites, including Dutton Gregory Solicitors.