A WOMAN is suing her mother and brother over a property empire after she claims her “Asian gold” was used to build it.
Tajleena Islam, 43, says her mother and father used gold coins, family treasures and jewellery in creating their London-based property fortune.
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Now she is trying to stake a claim to half of the £2.6m fortune as she claims she should have inherited those heirlooms.
The mum-of-two is now fighting her own 76-year-old mother and 53-year-old brother in the High Court over who own the properties.
Her mother, Sultana, and brother, Rahit, labelled the claims about the gold a “work of fiction” and accuse Tajleena of being melodramatic and lying.
The £2.6million portfolio was bought using Tajleena’s name and the name of her parents: Mohammed and Sultana.
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Tajleena’s father was a psychiatrist and moved to London in 2000 where he and Sultana built up a property portfolio.
After Mohammed died in 2017, a falling out happened in the family with Sultana claiming Tajleena threw her out of the home.
Taljeena denies that allegation.
But Tajleena claims her parents used £360,000 of her “Asian gold” and £150,000 of inherited money to start the portfolio.
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Tajleena’s barrister suggested that her client had trusted her mother to keep her inheritance safe for her.
But, mum Sultana claimed that she was never gifted anything from her own mother specifically for Tajleena.
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Sultana told the court: “I only ever received some jewellery when I was getting married.”
“That’s all, I had nothing else.”
Sultana and Rahit’s lawyer said Tajleena had provided little evidence about the existence of any gold and jewellery cache.
The lawyer said: “Sultana’s case is that such claims of inheritance or gifts to Tajleena are a work of fiction: there was no Asian gold and no substantial gift of money which Mohammed and Sultana looked after for Tajleena.”
In 2000, when the property portfolio started to build, Tajleena was supposedly working in a shop.
“Even on her own case, she had very little money from working part-time in a shop,” he said.
The lawyer alleged Tajleena spent money she earned on clothes, travel, going out rather then investing it into property.
He said: “Tajleena was reliant on her parents financially for the many years that followed.
“To say that, whilst living rent-free under their roof, she was a co-contributor of capital to her parents’ purchase of investment property is inherently unlikely, and there really is no evidence to properly support that supposed fact.”
Tajleena claims that one property was bought using her name while she was a student in the Czech Republic.
“I wasn’t aware that this forgery had taken place, but once my father had died I started having lots of doubts in relation to that property, and then I was utterly shocked to find out that I was no longer an owner. I couldn’t believe my eyes.
Tajleena was reliant on her parents financially for the many years that followed
Sultana’s lawyer
“This property was snatched away from me. I was the owner of that property and I had no indication that anyone would do such a thing and transfer the property from myself to someone else.”
She claims she was the victim of “undue influence” from her father and brother who also persuaded her to sign over her stakes in the other four properties.
Sultana’s lawyer said that Tajleena had “willingly signed” trust and transfer documents in with the four properties, which was the family “regularising” the ownership of them
He said: “Sultana and Rahit’s case is that the money for the purchase of the properties between 2000 and 2006 came from capital accumulated by Sultana and Mohammed following the sale of other properties and generally.
“Tajleena was able to help her parents borrow money given her age, and to give the impression to third party creditors, to whom Mohammed owed money, that she part-owned assets.
“The parties commonly intended that Tajleena had no beneficial interests in the properties purchased and she did not subsequently acquire an interest.
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“Tajleena now seeks opportunistically to claim interests in all properties by taking advantage of the – often – shambolic manner in which Mohammed and Sultana dealt with the ownership of their properties.
The judge is expected to reserve his ruling.
What are the rules around inheritence?
INHERITANCE can be a tricky subject for a family to deal with, especially if there has been a falling out.
England and Wales have no laws for forced heirship and courts have always been firm that a Testator can leave wealth to anyone or anything they wish.
But, the Inheritance Act 1975 does allow for some categories to make a claim at it.
These people can include the spouse or civil partner of the dead, children, a person who was treated as a child of the family by the deceased.
The court will consider factors in the inheritance like the amount and the financial resources and financial needs of parties.
