Allegedly forged will is declared genuine after all
4 March 2013
The England and Wales High Court has decided
that a disputed will purportedly executed by the late Chris John is
genuine ‒ although a criminal court has already convicted his
former cohabitant for forging it.
John, a wealthy Cardiff estate agent, died
suddenly in September 2008. At first no will could be found, and
his sisters quarrelled with his former wife Helen John over who
would administer the estate.
It then emerged that Mr and Mrs John, who had
supposedly been divorced in 2001, were still married at his death,
no decree absolute ever having been issued. Helen John was
therefore his widow, with a strong claim on his estate under the
intestacy rules.
But shortly afterwards, Mr John's cohabitant
Gillian Clemo found a will apparently executed by Chris John in
1999 and witnessed by herself and another party. It appointed Mr
John's sister Melissa as executor and as the guardian of his
13-year-old daughter by Helen John, while the estate would go to
the daughter when she reaches 27.
Helen John then accused Gillian Clemo of
forging the main part of the will. South Wales police investigated,
and, apparently on the basis of some indentation marks on the will,
which Clemo could not explain, decided to prosecute. [In a bizarre
episode, Helen John also admitted adding a forged codicil to this
will. For this she received a police caution, though the
prosecution of Clemo still went ahead.]
At Clemo's trial in May 2011, a handwriting
expert testified that the disputed will was genuine. Moreover, the
other witness to the will signed an attestation of due execution.
Nevertheless, Clemo was convicted and fined GBP1000 plus GBP8,500
costs.
Soon afterwards, Helen John sought a court
declaration that the will produced by Gillian Clemo was invalid and
that Chris John had died intestate. However, another twist was
still to come. After Clemo's conviction, John's sister Melissa had
again searched his papers, and found yet another will. It was
identical in all respects to the one previously discovered by
Clemo, down to the testator's and witnesses' signatures.
Accordingly, Melissa, who herself has no
financial interest in the estate, was persuaded that Clemo's
account was true. She instructed law firm Withers and Owen Curry of
XXIV Old Buildings to oppose Helen John's claim to inherit her late
husband's estate through intestacy.
The dispute was finally resolved at a hearing
of the High Court of the Cardiff District Probate Registry. A
second handwriting expert, Audrey Giles, was called to testify that
the wills were both genuine. Chris John, it seems, had executed two
copies one after the other, and it was the signing of the top copy
that had produced the suspicious-looking indentations on the bottom
copy found by Clemo. The Judge, Jarman J, agreed and granted an
order upholding the will, and rejecting Helen John's application
for a grant of representation in intestacy. Administration of the
estate was by agreement handed over to a Bristol law firm.
Clemo will now try to have her criminal
conviction overturned. She is thought to be out of time to go to
the Appeal Court, but can still approach the Criminal Cases Review
Commission.
‘We are optimistic that this decision from the
High Court will lead to Ms Clemo's conviction being overturned,’
said Paul Hewitt TEP of Withers.
Sources
Wales Online
Withers LLP (private correspondence)