A LAWYER alleged to have helped exclude two siblings from their millionaire father-in-law’s will admitted his recollection of events from before their father’s death was “possibly” wrong.
Reg Bond turned £350 into a multi million pound tyre business.
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He died in March 2021, aged 77, and now his son Michael and only daughter Lindsay are fighting their younger siblings Graham, Charlie over the validity of his last will.
Mr Bond gave much of his fortune away before he died, but handed nearly all of his remaining £12.3m to Charlie, 43, and Graham, 51.
Mike, 52, and Lindsay, 55, were left with £325,000 each and claim their father’s final will in 2019 was invalid because he was too ill to understand what he was signing.
But the brothers say their father’s mental facilities were fine and doctors’ records prove it.
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Penelope Reed, KC, representing Mike and Lindsay, said the will was made “against the backdrop of a series of complex commercial transactions” during which Mike and Lindsay sold their shares in the family business to a new company controlled by Charlie and Graham.
A court heard yesterday that Charlie brought in corporate lawyer Duncan Rann as “head of operations” of this new company despite his having no prior experience in operations.
Mr Rann has repeatedly denied colluding with Charlie to exclude Mike and Lindsay from receiving shares as set out in Reg’s will.
He said: ‘I had completely removed myself from the will-making process, I did not know anything at any time about what went on’.
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In response, Ms Reed referred to an “entry on November, when I think you accept that you met Geraldine and it says: ‘attending: Duncan at Walker Crips to discuss Reg’s will.'”
Mr Rann said that this meeting was actually about the fact that “in terms of numbers, Mr Bond’s shares would be diluted and so they understood that and could explain that to Reg and take instruction.
We inherited an incredible huge farm from a relative we NEVER knew existed – and it’s worth an absolute fortune
“It was very important that these shares Reg had in the company were properly described in the will.”
Ms Reed added: “One thing that comes out through your evidence is that you were perfectly content to act on Charlie’s instructions without actually worrying about whether these were Reg’s intentions.”
She referenced a portion of Mr Rann’s witness statement: “I did not see what Geraldine drafted in the will until much later, and we did not have any further conversations about the contents of the will before or after the meeting until after Reg’s death.
“Is that still your recollection?”
Mr Rann replied: “I thought we had an email exchange on January 2021…I think it might have been a phone call.”
Ms Reed countered: “So this is wrong?” Mr Rann said: “Possibly, I don’t remember. I’ve just referred to the potential of there being one.”
Ms Reed asked: “Were you concerned?
“I hadn’t seen the will as we’ve just established, and I was just worried, you know. Geraldine is not a corporate lawyer, it potentially could have been difficult drafting.
“As a lawyer you start to worry about things when you know it might be becoming to the point of examination.”
Ms Reed asked Mr Rann whether this “point of examination” referred to the fact that Mr Bond had gone into hospital the day before.
Mr Rann confirmed it was “around that time, yeah”, but reiterated that “I never spoke to Charlie about the will after 10 September”.
Ms Reed asked: “Is that seriously the case?”
FAMILY FEUD Mum and daughter locked in bitter row over £7.5m inheritance after dad left behind house and farm when he died
A MUM and daughter are locked in a bitter row over a whopping £7.5million inheritance.
Angela Heyes, 48, says she and her parents had an agreement that she would get their house and farm when they died.
She claims that as a result she and her husband Neil, 46, packed up their lives in Surrey and moved to Cornwall in 2014.
However, her mum Sarah Holt says that was never the deal – and the family is now battling each other in court.
The £7.5m row ensued after Angela’s dad Patrick Holt died in 2020.
The 48-year-old had argued that her mum and dad had agreed she and her husband would inherit the entire 60-plus-acre farm – which doubles up as a glamping business with on-site yurt.
“Seriously the case? It was very seriously the case,” Mr Rann replied.
Ms Reed asked him: “You say you didn’t have any discussion about the will until after Reg’s death?”.
Mr Rann replied: “(The witness statement) says we did not have any further conversations about the content of the will before or after this meeting until after Reg’s death, so other than this possible phone call where I ask for a copy of the will, that is correct.”
“Are email exchanges a conversation?” Ms Reed asked.
The solicitor replied: “It’s an email conversation, I suppose. We don’t generally refer to an email exchange as ‘conversation’.”
Ms Reed asked: “You’re being quite literal and also extending the meaning of the word ‘conversation’?.”
Mr Rann replied: “I think what I’m trying to say that I didn’t discuss the will after the 8 November.”
“Until after Reg had died?” Ms Reed said.
Mr Rann: “Yes.”
Ms Reed: “Which is not true?”
Mr Rann replied: “I understand what you’re saying, but once again you’re trying to twist the reality of the situation.
“What I’m trying to express is that I had no further input into Reg’s will before it was made.”
Ms Reed then brought up a note Mr Rann had to send to a person called Jed saying: “Thanks Jed, that’s perfect, we obviously thought about this issue beforehand and I’m happy it covers everything we need.
“I suggest to you Mr Rann, ‘it covers everything we need’ is a reference to the fact that the plan was to get the shares to Charlie and Greg, and not to Mike and Lindsay.”
Mr Rann claimed that this message only referred to the fact he needed to “ensure that (the will) was drafted correctly”.
Lawyers for Mike and Lindsay Bond also say their father “lacked testamentary capacity” when he made his last will in November 2019, highlighting the fact he had been suffering from a brain tumour since 2010.
They want the court to overrule the 2019 will and reinstate the previous will from 2017, also alleging that his last will is “invalid for want of knowledge and approval”.
Ms Reed earlier told the court that as well as the brain tumour, Mr Bond suffered from a fall in his garden in 2014 which led to pneumonia and other serious complications, leaving him needing “full-time care”.
She said Reg was “vulnerable and reliant on his carers”.
But Clare Stanley, acting for Charlie and Graham, told the judge Mr Bond’s health was improving at the time before the will was signed and he was able to drive his new Bentley he had bought to visit him with their families.
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Mr Bond had been filmed receiving a trophy for a winning horse he had connections with and celebrating cheerfully, whilst sitting in a wheelchair.
The hearing continues.
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How inheritance rules work
IN the UK, a person can leave their assets or “estate
But the person must create a valid will in which they specifically stipulate how they want their money, property and other possessions to be handled.
If someone in the UK dies without a will, their estate will be passed to the Crown if no potential relatives are traced within 12 years.
The next of kin does not automatically inherit the estate and will have to prove their relationship along with evidence there is no other closer next of kin to the deceased.
This is ordinarily achieved through providing a birth or marriage certificate.
