John Baverstock, 61, has won a High Court battle against his sister Lisa, 55, over their mother Margaret’s £700,000 estate. Lisa was caught on video guiding their dementia-suffering mother’s hand to sign a new will just eight days before her death, leaving John with nothing. The court ruled the will invalid, forcing Lisa to split the inheritance with her brother and pay his legal costs, estimated at up to £80,000.
The video evidence proved crucial in the case, showing Lisa reading the will to her unresponsive mother and then placing a pen in her hand to guide her signature. Judge Jane Evans-Gordon stated she was satisfied that Margaret “had no idea what was going on” at the time. John, an electrician, said he didn’t think his sister was capable of such actions and that she had done it to “cover her tracks and make it look legal.”
John had always been close to his mother, from childhood memories of her helping with homework to nights spent disco dancing together in the 1990s.
He would regularly visit her, helping with online shopping and household repairs. The relationship between the siblings soured in February 2021 over a misunderstanding about a property sales document.
Video evidence voids mother’s will
Lisa accused John of trying to sell their mother’s home and demanded he return his keys. After Margaret’s death in March 2021, Lisa told John that their mother had said she could have the house for looking after her. Lisa claimed in court that she had given up everything to care for Margaret, alleging her brother “could not be bothered” to help.
With no other known will in existence, Margaret was deemed to have died intestate, meaning her assets must be split equally between the siblings. John was baffled by his sister’s claims that their mother didn’t want him to inherit anything, recalling many happy times spent with her in her final years. The family dispute has left John feeling he has lost not just his mother, but his sister as well.
Solicitors estimate that as many as 10,000 wills are disputed each year in the UK, with the number of contested cases increasing annually. John’s barrister, Mark Jones, said the case reinforces the protection the law provides to vulnerable, ill, and elderly people, and to those with whom they might have wished to share their assets. The video evidence made this case extraordinary and substantially proved the challenges to the will.
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