Case of the dead man who sent a text
04 July 2011
The England & Wales High Court is now
hearing the strange case of the late Owen Davies, formerly of
Stratford upon Avon.
Mr Davies died suddenly in November 2008, in
Paris where he had worked as a corporate lawyer since 2001. He had
executed a will in 1996 leaving his entire GBP800,000 estate to his
uncle, Clive Vernon Davies.
At the time of his death Mr Davies had been
engaged to be married to a Belgian woman, Natalie de Vleeschauwer,
who shared his Paris home during the working week. At weekends they
stayed at her home in Belgium.
In the weeks after Mr Davies' death, it
appears that his executor Adrian Morris and Miss de Vleeschauwer
wound up his affairs without notifying his death to the rest of his
family - including his mother, sister and two brothers. Only Uncle
Clive knew that Owen had died.
In her submission to the High Court, Miss de
Vleeschauwer claims that Owen Davies himself had given her
instructions not to contact his family.
In the event, it was four months before the
family heard of Mr Davies' death. They are now challenging the
administration of the estate. They claim that the 1996 will, having
been executed in the UK, is invalid because the deceased was
domiciled in Belgium at his death.
If the High Court agrees, Belgian succession
law will apply and the family will divide Owen Davies' estate among
themselves.
A macabre episode of the case occurred during
December 2008, a few weeks after Mr Davies' demise. His brother
Adrian sent a text message to his mobile phone, asking if he would
be coming to a family reunion at Christmas. "Not this year", came
the texted reply. "There's a problem."
Sources
Mail
Express