The family of a wealthy London banker have successfully challenged the validity of a Will written just two days before his death, reports the Telegraph.
Marcel Chu died in May 2014 at the age of 73 and left behind an estate worth around £1 million. He wrote a Will in 2008 that left his estate to his three siblings, a niece and nephew and a family friend.
However, two days before his death Mr Chu appeared to sign a new Will, which left 40% of the estate to the woman who had acted as his carer and her family.
Donna Henderson had been employed as Mr Chu’s carer in the last year of his life, when a long-term medical condition caused his health to deteriorate substantially and brought about memory loss and confusion. At the time the second Will was signed, Mr Chu was in hospital with a several medical complaints, in addition to a fever that could have caused delirium.
After his death, Mr Chu’s siblings brought a legal challenge to the validity of the 2014 Will, claiming that their brother did not have the mental capacity to sign a Will at that time.
Mrs Henderson apparently admitted to arranging for the Will to be drawn up and even holding Mr Chu’s hand as he signed it, but insisted that this was merely to assist him. She claimed that Mr Chu was aware of the contents of the new Will and approved them.
However, the judge has now ruled in favour of Mr Chu’s siblings, finding the 2008 Will to be invalid and that the 2008 Will should stand.
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