Family win £700k inheritance fight with mum’s boyfriend over forged will and fake wedding
The family of a tragic mother have won a £700,000 case against her “toxic” boyfriend who used a fake will and a fake wedding to get his hands on her fortune.
Kassy Sinar, a London cleaning company boss and mother of one, was just 46 years old when she died of breast cancer in October 2023, and in a will she made in 2022, she entrusted her entire £500,000 estate to the benefit of her 16-year-old daughter Jocey.
However, after Jocey’s death, her partner Cengiz Arif (Jocey’s father) tried to claim his daughter’s money for himself by preparing a document dated May 10, 2023, which he claimed was Sinar’s true last will and claimed that everything belonged to him.
He also claimed that he and Sinar had secretly married in Cyprus on 19 September 2006, without the knowledge of his immediate family, and forbade his relatives from attending Sinar’s funeral in London, even though she left him and flew abroad when he was on his deathbed.
But his brother Ernest Sinar, who along with his wife Michelle is the legal guardian of his niece Jocey, filed a lawsuit on behalf of the family and a High Court judge ruled that both the marriage certificate and the 2023 document Mr Arif was to present as evidence were “fake”.
Head Master Karen Shuman approved Sinar’s 2022 will, entrusting all of her money to her daughter, leaving Mr Arif with nothing and ordering him to pay the estimated £206,000 costs of Ernest’s prosecution of the case.
The judge also removed Mr. Arif, who failed to appear in court to defend the case, from his duties as executor of the 2022 will and trustee of the trust fund, and granted an injunction prohibiting him from dealing with or distributing any property or money in Kassy’s estate.
The court heard Sinar, who runs his own cleaning business, was originally from Manchester but moved to London, bought a property in Kimberley Gardens, Finsbury Park and had an on-and-off relationship with Mr Arif.
Jocey was born in 2009, but the couple separated between 2011 and 2018; Sinar told her friends that she had rejected his marriage proposal and that the relationship was “abusive and toxic”.
The couple were reunited but tragically Sinar was diagnosed with breast cancer and died in hospice in October 2023.
Following his death, war broke out between Mr Arif and his family, led by his brother Ernest and his wife, who lived in Manchester, and the family held their own memorial service for Sinar after Mr Arif banned the cremation of Sinar in London.
Mr Arif then filed a so-called 2023 will, leaving him all of Sinar’s property, including his London home and the £58,000 bolt-hole house he bought in Thurston Street, Burnley, and also began receiving rental income from the Finsbury Park property.
The claim that he drafted and signed a shocking new will without telling his family or daughter was backed up by another shocking claim that the couple had secretly married in 2006 without the knowledge of his brother, friends or family.
The judge added that it was only after Sinar’s death that Mr Arif claimed to be her husband, and that his brother Ernest’s suspicions were aroused and he made inquiries with the Turkish authorities, questioning the validity of the marriage certificate submitted by Mr Arif, but was told that no wedding had taken place on the alleged date and that the registrar he named was not working.
The judge said Turkish authorities had confirmed that “the marriage was not legally valid”.
“No one was aware of Kassy’s alleged marriage.
“I am satisfied with the evidence that I have heard this is an unhappy, toxic and abusive relationship.
“There is evidence of physical and emotional abuse.
“During the last weeks of his life, she left him to travel to Cyprus for at least two weeks.
“She submitted fake documents to the court because she never married Cengiz.
“Cengiz presented false documents in these hearings. He never married Kassy.
“I’m sure the marriage certificate is a forged document.”
Moving on to the wills, the judge said that Arif Bey claimed that the will dated 2022 was not valid due to the changes Sinar made after it was first prepared and signed.
However, the judge ruled that the changes would not invalidate that decision.
“There is nothing before me to object to the conduct of Ernest or his lawyers. I am satisfied that the 2022 will has been properly executed,” he said.
However, he learned that the 2023 will prepared by Arif Bey was fake.
“Cengiz’s statement about how the 2023 plan was prepared is incredible, truly incredible.
“There was very strong evidence that the signature was not Kassy’s,” she said, adding that a handwriting expert said the signature bore all the signs of someone else trying to copy Sinar’s signature.
“It is inherently implausible that Genghis’ case is true. If Kassy had made the 2023 will, she would have told Ernest.”
“Based on the evidence presented to me, I am satisfied that the will dated 2023 is fake. The will Cengiz relied on was not Kassy’s last will. I also found that the marriage certificate was fake.
“The 2023 will is fraudulent. I am satisfied that there is fraud in this case.”
“This is a property that Kassy wanted to give to her daughter, rather than to her sometime partner and the father of her child.
“I therefore declare in favor of the 2022 will. In light of my findings, it is quite clear that Cengiz should be immediately removed as executor of the will and trustee of the will,” the judge said.
The judge added that it was unclear exactly how much Sinar’s property was worth, but that both of his properties must be worth more than £500,000, adding “in excess of £35,000” of cash from the rental of the London property going to a bank account controlled by Mr Arif.
“Cengiz’s behavior demonstrates a lack of honesty and loyalty. I find it both necessary and proportionate to restrain him from dealing with any real estate assets.
“I am very concerned that he is filing suit and ignoring court orders based on a false will supported by a false marriage certificate.
“Given the level of forgery and fraud in this case… I am deeply concerned that he will seek to strip her of her estate assets,” the judge said.
He ordered Mr Arif’s bank to disclose details of the rent payments to Ernest’s lawyers, as well as freezing Sinar’s ability to deal with his cash and property.
The judge ordered Mr Arif to pay the costs of the case, which Ernest’s lawyer Sarah Harrison said were around £206,000.
The judge ordered an advance payment of £120,000 towards these costs.
Verity Hudson of Rothley Law, one of Ernest’s lawyers, said after the case:
“This was a complex and emotional case that required careful investigation. We are delighted to have worked closely with the family since 2023 to help achieve the right outcome for them.”
