Malcolm Kyle

By LUKE SALKELD – Daily Mail online
3rd November 2010

The ex-wife and the girlfriend of a millionaire estate agent both forged a will in a dispute over his fortune, a court heard yesterday.

Chris John died suddenly at the age of 47, leaving a property portfolio and sports cars – but no will.

His girlfriend Gillian Clemo used a forged will to try to ensure she could stay in the luxury home the couple had shared, the jury was told.

His former wife Helen John, 48, who had split from her husband ‘acrimoniously’ after his affair with Clemo, then altered that will after discovering that their divorce had never been officially finalised, it was said.

The alleged fraud and counter fraud began after Mr John, who once sold a property to singer Charlotte Church, died of a brain haemorrhage. There was no sign of a will deciding how his estate should be divided.

Clemo, 57, is said to have wanted Mr John’s sisters to be appointed as executors, so she would be allowed to continue living in the Cardiff house.

John Philpotts, prosecuting, told Newport Crown Court: ‘When no will was discovered there developed a dispute as to who should administrate the estate. On the one hand were the two sisters and on the other hand Helen John. No agreement could be reached.’

‘Mrs Clemo wanted the sisters to be executors so she would be allowed to stay in the house.’

The court heard Clemo then swore an affidavit that the will, which left the estate to Mr John’s daughter when she reached 27, was real and that she had witnessed it.

But Mr Philpotts said handwriting experts decided it was not Mr John who had signed the will. ‘In addition there was the fact that Mr John’s daughter’s name was spelled wrongly,’ he said.

Talking about the will, Mrs John told the court: ‘I was shown a copy. It was on A4 white paper with a couple of lines written on it. It immediately struck me that it didn’t look like my husband’s signature.’

Mrs John admitted forging a modification to the will, although details were not given in court. She said she had been worried about her daughter’s inheritance, said to be worth millions.

The jury heard she had been given a formal caution by police instead of being taken to court.

Clemo denies using a forged will under the Forgery and Counterfeiting Act.

The trial continues.

Continue Reading

It’s a shocking fact that nearly two-thirds of the adult population risk their estate falling into the wrong hands because they have not made a will, a new study suggests.

There are now more than 30 million adults without a will in place, rising from 28 million last year, according to advice website unbiased.co.uk.

While most adults in Britain know exactly who they want to receive their assets when they die, more than a third claim they have not got round to making a will.

Worryingly this means that a large proportion of spouses, partners and children will be left unprotected should anything happen.

So many people are simply unaware that should they die without a will, their assets are distributed according to the rules of intestacy, meaning their assets may not be going to those they would like them to go to.

Married couples or those in civil partnerships, assume that if their spouse or partner were to die then they would automatically inherit the estate. This is not true and can lead to legal complications and family rifts.

Unmarried couples and those not in civil partnerships are at particular risk as the laws of intestacy don’t give the surviving partner any rights to inherit. It is understood that the Government is consulting on a rule change in England and Wales, however no changes are thought to be imminent.

Not having a will could also result in inheritance tax being due before the estate is released. A grieving family may be forced to take out costly loans to release the assets.

Many people may be tempted to take the DIY approach with many high-street shops selling “write your own will” packs for about £10. Yet a badly-made will could land relatives with huge legal fees, dwarfing those charged to draw up a will correctly by a professional.

Will-writing is unregulated in England and Wales and some Will writing companies have very basic training in place for their consultants. When you are considering writing your Will ask your Will writing company these questions:

• Are you regulated? If so, by whom?
• Do you carry Professional Indemnity Insurance
• Are your Will writing consultants professionally trained

Continue Reading

Published Date: 04 September 2010

By Graham Scott

Writing a will might seem a daunting task, but your loved ones will thank you for planning ahead, reports The Scotsman, as they publish advice on how to set out your wishes for after you’ve passed.

According to a recent Panorama programme, two-thirds of the population do not have a will. Writing a will is not as daunting as it may appear, but it’s important to get things moving by preparing a pre-will checklist before you have your will drafted.

Graham Scott suggests you carefully consider the following ten points.

1 DON’T SCRIMP - Think very carefully before being tempted by cheap “one size fits all” facilities, such as the DIY will packs available from some newsagents, they more often than not do not cover everything you need.

2 KNOW WHAT YOU ARE WORTH - Write down a full list of all your heritable assets (i.e. property) and moveable assets (i.e. cash, shares, consumer and household goods). This should give you a good idea of what your estate is worth in total and should help in deciding how to “divide the cake”.

3 GIFT ACCOUNT – In a similar vein to the above, set out details of gifts of cash or goods that have been made to children, other close relatives or friends within the past seven years. Any gifts above the value of £3,000 in any one year and made within seven years of a person’s death will, under current HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) rules be treated as part of the deceased’s estate and therefore potentially liable for inheritance tax.

4 ANTICIPATE IHT – Should it be obvious that your estate will become liable for inheritance tax (IHT) it may be worth considering taking out a life insurance policy that will produce funds that may go some way to meeting any IHT liability on death. It is also possible to insure against gifts made within seven years of death from becoming part of a deceased person’s estate. Remember that when an estate does become liable for IHT, the executors will need to take out a loan or the beneficiaries will have to fund the tax payments initially from their own pockets because IHT is payable to HMRC before the assets can be realised by the executors.

5 TOGETHERNESS – Although a husband and wife will normally make separate wills (usually referred to as Joint or Mirror Wills), they may wish to discuss the provisions with one another in advance in order to ensure that each will is appropriately drafted. Usually, when a married person dies the major assets will go to the survivor (especially if there are IHT implications) or should they both die together (e.g. in a road accident) the assets will be bequeathed to the same named beneficiaries.

6 CHILD-CENTERED - In the case of second marriages, it may be prudent to think carefully about what would happen if dependent children were left in the care of a step-parent and how this would affect their eventual inheritance. Any natural parents in a second marriage who wish to ensure that at least part of their estate goes to their children (and is not gobbled up by the surviving step-parent) should think about including trust provisions that will ‘ring-fence’  the interests of the children, especially if they are below the age of adult responsibility.

7 DISINHERITING SOMEONE – Sadly, some parents do on occasion decide for certain reasons to disinherit an adult son or daughter. However there are circumstances in which a disinherited offspring might make a claim. In a less extreme case, a parent who simply wishes to delay passing on an inheritance to a younger adult can have the assets held in trust until the beneficiary reaches a set age.

8 FOLLOWING YOUR WISHES – Choose the executor (or executors) of your will carefully. A close relative or trusted friend is an obvious choice, but should be complemented by someone, such as our profssional solicitors, who has no personal interest in the distribution of the estate. The most beneficial arrangement is to have an odd number of executors so that any disagreements regarding an estate do not end in deadlock.

9 DISABILITY DIMENSION – Consider granting power of attorney at the same time as writing a will. Many people make the mistake of assuming that the executors will automatically be granted power of attorney should an accident or illness lead to a serious and permanent mental or physical impairment. A power of attorney document has to be drawn up separately – but this can be done simultaneously with the will.

10 NOT THE END - Unless you are particularly aged or in poor health, do not approach the writing of a will in terms of ‘putting your affairs in order’, as if this means any further action is not required. Draw up a future timetable to regularly review your financial circumstances, as any major changes in these will probably require an alteration in your will.

Continue Reading