Share and Follow
A grandson handed his grandmother’s historic £1m watermill home wept in court as he was left homeless and facing bankruptcy after losing it in a fight with the daughter she cut out of her will.
On her death, ‘stubborn’ Molly Brown had intended to divide her fortune between her five children and her grandson Justin Dennis, whom she brought up as a child.
But after a terrible falling out left her relationship with her children ‘poisoned,’ she made a new will, handing Mr Dennis everything, including the Grade II-listed 16th century watermill in Goudhurst, Kent, where she lived.
The rift between Mrs Brown and her children was so deep that they didn’t even know she had died in 2016 until three years later.
Mrs Brown’s daughter, Philippa Wehage, 66, who claimed she was ‘like a second mother’ to nephew Mr Dennis, 50, when he was a youngster, then went on to sue him, claiming he had turned her mother against her children by feeding her a ‘drip drip’ of lies about them over the years.
Mr Dennis, who represented himself in the trial, was visibly distressed at the latest hearing
Judge Richard Farnhill has now handed her victory, overturning the 2012 will cutting out her children and upholding one made in 1991, which shared her estate equally six ways between Mr Dennis and her five children.
But he cleared Mr Dennis of any wrongdoing, saying he had no part in turning his grandmother against her children and finding she had cut them off because she was suffering from an ‘insane delusion’ that they had defrauded her out of ownership of the family business.
The High Court heard that Mr Dennis – who lived at the mill with Mrs Brown and wept as the ruling was announced – now faces being made homeless when it is sold and the proceeds divided among the family.
He is also facing a £100,000 court costs bill, which he told the judge will lead to him being made bankrupt.
The court heard that Mr Dennis is the son of Philippa’s sister Jane Burt-Brown, but was brought up by his grandmother and her husband Jack.
Philippa Wehage, and her husband Bent, are pictured outside the High Court in London
Mr Dennis lived at the mill with Mrs Brown but is now facing being made homeless
The luxury £1m watermill property in Kent, which was at the centre of the family feud
Ms Wehage’s barrister Faisel Sadiq said his client had been ‘kind and loving’ to Mr Dennis, babysitting for him regularly and acting effectively as a ‘second mother’ until she moved out aged 18.
Under a will made in 1991, Mrs Brown, who was widowed in 1996, had planned to split everything she had equally between her five children and her grandson.
But after becoming convinced that she had been ‘defrauded’ out of a share in the family company by her children, she tore up her will and wrote a new one in 2012, leaving everything to Justin.
The estate is mostly made up of Mrs Brown’s former home, a Grade-II listed former water mill, in Goudhurst, on the River Teise, near Tunbridge Wells, which dates back to around 1516.
The court heard that her family had run a successful printing business, set up in the 1940s and eventually run by her husband.
His three sons, Ms Wehage’s brothers Leighton, 57, Ashley, 54, and Craig Brown, 71, all worked in the business and for inheritance tax reasons, the shares in it were transferred to them in 1991.
The family agreed at the time that the company would ‘look after’ Mrs Brown, who would receive payments as and when the company could afford it.
But she later became disgruntled after business declined and her children suggested they would have to stop payments, claiming she had been ‘ripped off’ in relation to the company by her children.
Ms Wehage claimed it was her nephew’s behaviour which caused the estrangement, as he gradually poisoned her mind against her children, not even telling them when she died, aged 88, in 2016.
Read Related Also: Fed Holds: No Rate Hike for Now
Mr Dennis had clearly been the ‘driving force’ behind her mother’s ‘insane delusion’ about her children, she said.
In his defence to the claim, Mr Dennis, who represented himself at trial, denied any wrongdoing and said his grandmother had ‘full capacity’ to make the will and was not persuaded by him to do so.
He also backed her claim that she was defrauded by her children.
The judge, ruling in Ms Wehage’s favour, said Mrs Brown’s belief in the fraud ‘started out as a mistaken belief’ that share certificates transferring the business to her sons had been forged.
‘I reject the suggestion that any aspect of the share transfer was forged,’ he said.
‘The issue is that the mistake could not be corrected in Mrs Brown’s mind.
‘Sadly it persisted all the way up to her death, poisoning her relationship with her children.
‘Mr Dennis did not foist his conspiracy theory onto Mrs Brown. She formed it herself and he accepted it. She persuaded herself.
‘All the witness evidence was that Mrs Brown was extremely stubborn. She would never back down. It seems to me that this was an example of that character trait.’
Of Mr Dennis, the judge said: ‘[He] is a man who sometimes struggles with his emotions. I do not consider that his actions were designed to conceal some scheme of his designed to disinherit the siblings. The driver behind his actions may have been anger.
‘Mr Dennis’ belief in the forged share certificates had become so fixed that it is impervious to evidence or persuasion. He accepted fully that the fraud took place and he strongly and deeply feels that his beliefs have a solid foundation.
‘Molly Brown’s will, executed in 2012, was made by her whilst suffering what the law refers to as an insane delusion. She would not have distributed her property in the way that she did had she not suffered from that insane delusion.
‘The 2012 will is therefore invalid because Mrs Brown lacked testamentary capacity.
‘However, the 2012 will was not the result of undue influence by Mr Dennis. He supported her in a belief that she had formed by herself.
‘Nor was it the result of fraudulent calumny on his part. The alleged fraud was something in which he himself genuinely believed.
‘He sought to follow through on what he thought were Mrs Brown’s best interest and final wishes.
‘The last true will was the will made by Mrs Brown on May 1991 and I direct that it be entered into probate,’ he concluded.
Molly Brown died in 2016 but her children were unaware of her passing until three years later
After the ruling, the judge ordered that Mr Dennis be personally liable for his aunt’s legal costs incurred since January this year, with earlier costs being paid from the estate.
That leaves him facing a personal bill of over £100,000, with his own previous solicitors’ fees taken into account.
‘I’m concerned that this is a harsh blow for Mr Dennis,’ the judge commented as Mr Dennis moaned and held his head in court showing visible signs of distress.
Mr Dennis said: ‘It’s my home, your honour. I’m bankrupt. I’ve my own solicitors’ bills to pay, which are £37,000. I will be claiming bankruptcy next week.’
He was refused permission to appeal the order, but given six weeks to lodge an appeal with the Court of Appeal.
After that, Ms Wehage can begin possession proceedings with a view to selling the mill.
Her total costs were approximately £150,000, around half of which Mr Dennis is liable for personally.
