Judge rules on sibling court battle over parent's fortune

A BITTER court dispute between the children of former New Milton solicitor Jim Burgess over a £1.5m inheritance has ended with each being awarded an equal share of the pot.

Chris Burgess, a former British Airways pilot, argued he was entitled to a third of the amount – his sisters Jennifer Penny (69) and Catherine Kennard (55) claimed it had been agreed he should receive less than them because he was wealthier.

This week judge Catherine Newman QC sided with Chris’s claim, announcing her decision at the High Court in London.

Mr Burgess, who was a solicitor for New Milton law firm Heppenstalls for more than 40 years, died in 2012 aged 88. He left his estate to his wife Freda who died four years later.

She made a will which reflected his wishes that the two daughters should receive 40% – around £600,000 – each, and Chris 20% to make up for the disparity in their respective lifestyles.

However, the will was redrafted in 2013 before Freda’s death to state all three should be given an equal £500,000 share.

At an earlier hearing at the High Court, the sisters claimed their mother did not know and approve of the 2013 will’s contents, suggesting she was frail and vulnerable due to a fall nine days before it was signed. Nor was her last will properly witnessed, they claimed.

But Chris (65), who lives in Surrey, insisted he and his sisters had always expected to be treated equally when their parents died and explained he handled his father’s will after his death and helped his mother with her affairs because she had no one else to turn to.

In the judgement, Catherine Newman QC said: “Freda did feel unhappy about the unequal division of the estate, and did decide to change the provisions of her will back to equality. After her fall, this became something she wanted dealt with quickly.

“Although physically frail at this time and temporarily less robust psychologically than before her fall, she was well able to make up her own mind about what she wanted.”

She added: “My assessment of Chris is that he would not draw up a will which was not in accordance with his mother's expressed wishes and that he did not do so.”

A decision over who will pay the costs of the case will be made at a later date.

Jim Burgess was well-known as a genial character in New Milton during his long legal career which ended when he retired in 1989, having specialised in family law and youth crime. He belonged to a number of local organisations including the Round Table and the 41 Club.

He had been one of the first lawyers to take on the often thankless task of duty solicitor and spent a spell as chairman of the Social Services Tribunal in Bournemouth.

Jim was also involved for many years with the Bournemouth and District Law Society, serving as its president in 1976, and was one of the first deputy recorders in England in the mid-70s.

After his retirement from Heppenstalls he became a full-time recorder on the Western Circuit of the county court – famously staying overnight in his campervan before cases.