By Nick Constable and James Fielding
07:20 06 Mar 2024, updated 08:43 06 Mar 2024
- Frederick Ward Snr left his five granddaughters the small token sum in his will
- The 91-year-old left almost all of his fortune to his children when he died in 2020
- Widow of Fred Snr’s other son, said her husband would have been outraged
The mother of five sisters who were given just £50 each from their grandfather’s fortune believes her late husband would be ‘turning in his grave’ to see his daughters effectively disinherited.
Former soldier Frederick Ward Snr left the sisters a token sum in his will from his £500,000 estate because he was ‘disappointed’ that none of the women visited him in hospital before he died aged 91.
He sparked a bitter family feud when he left the vast majority of his estate to his two grown up children Terry Ward and Susan Wiltshire – but cut out the five daughters of his eldest son Fred Junior, who passed away in 2015. The five sisters took the case to the High Court but lost.
Now a close family source says Fred Jr’s widow Ann Ward has ‘no doubts whatsoever’ that he would have been outraged that his father left the bulk of his fortune to his surviving siblings.
Mrs Ward feels key evidence had not been fully taken into account and that there were ‘a lot of serious questions to be asked about the judge’s ruling.’
Speaking exclusively to MailOnline, the source said: ‘Ann is very clear. If her late husband was still alive he would have been absolutely fuming that his daughters had been disinherited like this. He would be turning in his grave. She has no doubts whatsoever about that.
‘It is not about the money. She believes her girls were fighting for what their dad would have wanted and what their grandfather had originally promised.
‘There are a lot of serious questions to be asked about the judge’s ruling. Ann believes some key evidence appears not to have been fully taken into account.’
Asked if the sisters planned to appeal, the source replied: ‘They can’t afford to. They’re already having to pay both sides’ legal costs.’
The family feud emerged during a High Court case which the granddaughters brought to claim what they felt was their rightful inheritance.
In his 2018 will, Fred Senior left the bulk of his estate to his two younger children – Terry Ward and Susan Wiltshire.
He was said to be ‘disappointed’ that his five grand-daughters had not visited him regularly enough when he was alive.
The women – Carol Gowing, Angela St Marseille, Amanda Higginbotham, Christine Ward and Janet Pett – sued on the grounds that they should have inherited their late father’s one-third share of their grandfather’s £500,000 assets.
Instead, when the will was read out, they each received just £50 in cash from their Uncle Terry.
They argued that the 2018 will was invalid because Uncle Terry and Aunt Susan had ‘unduly influenced’ their grandfather into denying them their fair share.
The five sisters also argued that the will was made when Fred Snr was ‘an ill man’ and ‘frightened’ of Terry.
Fred Snr, a former solider, cable joiner and regular social club user lived in Willow Road, South Ealing, London and died aged 91 in 2020.
He had previously made a will which split his estate, including his £450,000 maisonette, between all three of his children.
But Fred Jr – father to the five sisters – died before his dad in 2015, following which the family fell out and Mr Ward did not see much of Fred Jr’s side of the family.
And when his will was read out by Terry after his death, a bitter shouting match broke out – which was recorded and played to the High Court – when it was revealed that the five sisters had been all but cut out.
The barrister for the five sisters told the judge that Terry had developed a particular ‘hate’ for his niece Carol after a family falling out over a property, and said there was a ‘palpable…dislike between the two sides of the family’.
‘The claimants allege a mercenary side to the relationship between the defendants and the deceased,’ the barrister said, with witnesses for the sisters recounting ‘the deceased complaining of being asked for money by one or both’.
The witnesses also claimed ‘they were told of physically violent behaviour by Terry to the deceased.’
Terry and his barrister Maxwell Myers vehemently denied the ‘unpleasant’ allegations, with Terry in the witness box calling one of the witnesses who made them ‘an absolute liar’.
Mr Myers also denied the allegations of undue influence, saying that claims that Fred Snr was a weak man ‘differs from reality’ and was contradicted by the evidence.
‘His strength of character is attested to by a close friend,’ he said, adding that the friend claimed ‘Fred Snr would never be frightened by Terry or Sue.’
With Carol in the witness box, Mr Myers put to her that ‘when ones dies, one is entitled to leave one’s property to whoever one pleases.’
‘Yes, as long as the will has been written up correctly,’ she replied.
‘I can’t prove they bullied him, but I feel the evidence we have points to that. It’s what we’ve been told by family members.’
The sisters case was thrown out by High Court judge, Master James Brightwell, who said it was ‘entirely rational’ for the ‘disappointed’ grandad to cut out his grandchildren due to their ‘very limited contact’ with him in his last years.
He said that ‘the evidence does not come close to persuading me’ that Terry had ‘coerced’ his father or that Susan had ‘controlled’ him such as to cast doubt on his will.
The sisters’ widowed mother, Ann Ward, of St Giles on the Heath, Devon, declined to comment when approached by Mail Online.
Speaking briefly from her home in White City, West London, one of Fred’s granddaughters, Amanda, said: ‘We did see grandad regularly.’
William Turner is a seasoned U.K. correspondent with a deep understanding of domestic affairs. With a passion for British politics and culture, he provides insightful analysis and comprehensive coverage of events within the United Kingdom.
