A terminally-ill woman who wrote her ‘affluent’ stepdaughter out of her will after ‘toxic’ family clashes has won a court battle to stop her getting a penny.
Marketing manager Carly Shapton, 32, sued wheelchair-bound Maria Seviour, her father Colin’s second wife, after he died of brain cancer in 2016 and left Maria all of his £268,000 estate.
Following Colin’s death, Maria, 56, wrote stepdaughter Carly and her brother out of her own will, the family having fallen out over Carly’s wedding and Colin’s funeral arrangements.
Carly said it was ‘unreasonable’ for her to be left with nothing from the estate of her dad – with whom she had an ‘incredibly close relationship’ – despite the fact her stepmum has motor neurone disease.
But Judge Stephen Lloyd at London’s High Court dismissed Carly’s claim that she was in need of a £75,000 share of the money, saying it was ‘absolutely hopeless’ as she can already afford luxury skiing and speedboating holidays.
Wheelchair-bound Maria Seviour has won a court battle to write her stepdaughter and her brother out of her will, after their late-father Colin left his entire to wife Maria (pictured together)
The court heard that both Maria and Colin had had previous marriages when they met in the 1990s and then married in 1999.
They moved into Maria’s former matrimonial home in Radstock, Somerset, with her children, Briony and Christopher Thatcher, living with them. Colin’s kids, Carly and brother Christopher Seviour, lived with their own mum.
Colin, who had worked as a warehouseman, died in August 2016, two years after he was diagnosed with brain cancer and only 15 months before Maria’s motor neurone disease diagnosis.
Marketing manager Carly, 32, said it was ‘unreasonable’ for her to be left with nothing from the estate of her dad – with whom she had an ‘incredibly close relationship’
The judge said the relationship between Carly and Maria is now ‘frankly toxic,’ the family having fallen out over Carly’s wedding and Colin’s funeral arrangements.
‘This seems to have stemmed from an offer by the deceased to contribute £2,500 towards the wedding costs,’ said Judge Lloyd.
‘Jake made clear in a phone call to Maria, in which by all accounts he did not mince his words, that he did not consider that sum to be anything like enough.
‘Colin’s funeral arrangements worsened the position in that Maria felt she was entirely excluded from the eulogies.’
Both Colin and Maria had planned to ultimately leave their estate to the four children when they both eventually died, but after Colin succumbed to his cancer, Maria changed her mind and wrote Carly and her brother out of her will.
Taking her stepmum to court, Carly claimed that she deserved a slice of her dad’s estate, saying that she needed the cash to buy a house big enough for her kids to have rooms and her husband an office.
But representing Maria, retired solicitor Alan Johnson argued that Carly did not in fact need anything at all, since she already enjoys an ‘affluent’ life, with fancy holidays and a house in The Mumbles, one of the nicest areas of Swansea.
‘Commensurate with their income, Carly and Jake live a comfortable and indeed relatively affluent lifestyle,’ he told the judge.
‘They enjoy regular winter and summer holidays, which have continued since having children – for example, skiing holidays in March 2018 and January 2019.’
Colin had no obligations to his grown-up and married daughter, said Mr Johnson, in contrast to those he owed his wife, who even at the time of his death was beginning to show symptoms of motor neurone disease.
The vast majority of Colin’s estate was tied up in the couple’s home and to force Maria to pay anything to Carly could potentially have resulted in her having to give it up, he said.
But Judge Stephen Lloyd at London’s High Court dismissed Carly’s claim that she was in need of a £75,000 share of the money, saying that she could already afford luxury skiing and speedboating holidays
Ruling against Carly, Judge Lloyd said her claim for cash from her stepmum was hopeless from the start.
‘First, the estate is a small one and some 80 per cent is tied up in Maria’s house, where she has lived for many years and wishes to remain for as long as possible,’ he said.
‘Maria suffers from a debilitating illness which will ultimately prove terminal. However, the prognosis for MND is notoriously uncertain.
‘She will need every penny to live out her remaining years in dignity and comfort.’
On the other hand, Carly and Jake are relatively well-off, despite their £20,000 credit card debts, he continued.
‘It is perfectly clear that Carly and her husband have enjoyed several very luxurious holidays with Jake’s parents; they have had the use of a speed boat,’ he said.
‘She and her husband have a high combined income, which is more than adequate to meet their day to day needs.
‘I was left with the clearest picture that Carly and her husband live a comfortable life.
‘The high figure they pay for loans, credit cards and bank charges is self-inflicted.
‘Yes, they feel they need a larger house, but that was never on the cards in this application.’
Dismissing her claim, the judge said Carly would have to foot the bill for the case, which is estimated at around £50,000 in total.
‘As the argument wore on, it became clear that Carly was motivated by the view that she was entitled as of right to one quarter of her father’s estate,’ he said.
‘She clearly is not. The will is quite clear: Maria, having survived her husband, takes the estate outright.
‘I understand that Maria has changed her will. That is her prerogative.’