Aunt cut family from will and branded them ‘The Rats’ over care home suggestion
A great-nephew who was disinherited after his aunt branded her side of the family “The Rats” for an “offensive suggestion” he went into a care home has lost a £400,000 fight.
Childless Doreen Stock had planned to leave all her property to her 39-year-old great-nephew Ben Chiswick, who lives in the United States, in accordance with a will she wrote when she was a baby.
But the “stubborn and home-proud” Mrs Stock changed her mind dramatically after falling out with Ben’s parents Patricia and Brent Chiswick (whom she called “Mice”) over a “suggestion” that he spend time in a care home.
The pensioner wrote to Ben in 2020, a year before his death aged 86, leaving everything to his nephew Simon Stock and his wife Catherine, who live in London.
A court heard Mr Stock, a tax consultant who claimed he was “the closest thing to a son” his aunt had ever had, lived near her home in south London and had not seen Ben for years after he emigrated to America.
At Central London District Court, Ben challenged the will, claiming that Doreen, who he said was “a fixture of his childhood”, was so ill with dementia that he didn’t fully understand what he was doing when he disinherited her.
In sentencing, Judge Jane Evans-Gordon found Doreen’s criticisms of the Chiswicks, who had power of attorney over her, were “unfair” because they were acting solely in her interests.
However, this did not make his actions “unreasonable” and he did not lack capacity in excluding his sons from his will.
“[The] The evidence was that Doreen was so distraught that she burst into tears at the suggestion that she go to a care home. “He was very hurt and upset by this suggestion,” he said.
“Doreen’s hostile feelings towards the Chiswicks grew so much that she referred to them as ‘The Rats.’
“It might have been unfair to blame the Chiswicks, but it wasn’t unreasonable.”
At a hearing earlier this year the judge heard that “independent” and occasionally “stubborn” Doreen had a deep emotional attachment to her home in Charminster Road, Lewisham, and shared it with her husband Samuel until her death in 2001.
Having no children of her own, Doreen’s first will, made in 1986, ultimately left her estate to her niece Patricia Chiswick and her husband Brent’s son Ben.
The property mainly includes the Lewisham house, which is valued online at around £400,000.
The court heard Doreen had previously had a good relationship with the Chiswicks, who helped her with her shopping and visited her regularly.
She even made a durable power of attorney in their favor, but revoked the document before she died and changed her will in 2020, leaving everything to her husband’s nephew Simon Stock and his wife Catherine.
He died in 2021 at the age of 86.
Defying the will, propulsion engineer Ben claimed there was “something not right” about the change, telling the judge he had a “really happy relationship” with his great-aunt.
But barrister James McKean, for Stocks, told the court Doreen was also close to Simon Stock, “the closest thing to a son she ever had”, and contributed to his school fees during his childhood.
Although Ben previously had a close relationship with his parents, this soured when they suggested he go to a care home while on holiday in 2019.
Patricia had then arranged for a “capacity assessment” for her aunt, which the barrister said led Doreen to fear her independence was being threatened and eventually change her will.
He said “resentment was building” over the way her power of attorney had been managed, and “this finally came to a boil in the summer of 2019 when the Chiswicks made an ill-intentioned – but perhaps well-intentioned – suggestion that Doreen stay in residential care for a period.”
“Doreen was jealously independent by all accounts. It’s little wonder she found the proposal worrying and offensive.
“No doubt Doreen was anxious about the prospect of going to a home, then was asked to undergo a capacity assessment and put two and two together.”
A few weeks after the assessment, he had begun taking steps to revoke the power of attorney and prepare a new will in favor of Simon and Catherine.
In the judgment, which has now been made public, the judge said: “In or about May 2019, the Chiswicks were arranging a three-week holiday in August and were concerned that Doreen would struggle to cope in their absence.
“They researched care homes and suggested Doreen might like to spend her holidays in a particular care home and left the brochure with her.
“Although Doreen initially agreed that a break might be a good idea, she later changed her mind. It seems common ground that she was upset at the suggestion.”
“Whilst the Chiswicks felt that Doreen might enjoy returning to temporary housing and might consider moving permanently, I am satisfied that they did not support the idea of Doreen moving in permanently.
“Doreen began expressing her dissatisfaction with the Chiswicks when discussions about the care home were first taking place.
“[The] The evidence was that Doreen was so distraught that she burst into tears at the suggestion that she go to a care home. He was very hurt and upset by this suggestion.
“Doreen’s hostile feelings towards the Chiswicks grew so much that she referred to them as ‘The Rats.’
“Doreen’s dissatisfaction with the Chiswicks had a concrete basis, but in my view her assessments were unfair,” the judge said.
“However, the fact that a person or his behavior is wrong does not make the decision insufficient.
“Mrs Chiswick told me that there was a hope in the background that Doreen would want to continue the business full-time.
“This hope may have been conveyed to Doreen. Mrs Chiswick arranged for the capacity assessment… much to Doreen’s chagrin.
“It might have been unfair to blame the Chiswicks, but it wasn’t unreasonable.”
He also said Ben Chiswick had not seen his great-aunt for years, nor had he spoken to her on the phone or written to her.
“In contrast, I’m pleased that Stocks is visiting Doreen more often and undertaking small tasks for her,” he added.
He concluded: “I am satisfied that Doreen has the capacity to prepare a will between January and March 2020.”
The decision means Mr and Mrs Stock will inherit their entire estate, while Ben Chiswick will receive nothing.
