Well, it's one man's money so he can do with it as he pleases as the saying goes, but it doesn't work like that in practice, and the spectacle of a UK political party bringing out expensive legal teams to effectively prevent family members from securing what is rightfully theirs seems a bit off .. or more than a bit off for that matter.
The Conservatives might be having a good time along with their lawyers, trying to prevent a family member from inheriting his father's assets, but given the way our politicians go on - feathering their own nests at everyone else's expense, do they really deserve to win such a case ? Has it become such a strange world that politicians feel they must usurp the family tree to grab some more money to buy a few more top of the range cars, expensive holidays etc
Perhaps this is one of the reasons politicians don't help families of the deceased when it is discovered a lawyer has fleeced their inheritance for themselves .. and if the politicians don't help in such matters, the lawyers regulators don't need to do anything either .. which is the way it usually works when lawyers handle wills - always trouble !
Here's the story from the Scotsman - decide for yourselves if the deceased was a nutter and take a second to think if you might be in your right mind, leaving money to politicians over your own family.
Man who left £8m to Tories in will - but nothing to son - 'was deluded and insane'
SHAN ROSS (sross@scotsman.com)
A WEALTHY businessman was "deluded and insane" when he turned his back on his family and left his £8 million fortune to the Conservative Party, a court heard yesterday.
Branislav Kostic removed his only son from his will after stating that Margaret Thatcher was "the greatest leader of the free world in history" and that she would save the world from the "satanic monsters and freaks" conspiring against him.
A judge was told that Belgrade-born Mr Kostic was mentally ill and harboured an irrational belief that his family was conspiring against him. He died, aged 80, in October 2005.
His only son, Zoran, 50, who lives in Edinburgh, claims he is entitled to the whole of his father's estate under a 1974 will.
He says that, when his father made later wills in favour of the Conservatives, he lacked "testamentary capacity" because of his delusional and paranoid mental illness.
Clare Montgomery, QC, for Zoran Kostic, told the High Court in London yesterday the Tories "only benefited because the testator became mentally ill".
The party is contesting the claim.
The late Mr Kostic was the founder of Transtrade UK, a pharmaceuticals and precious metals company.
Until 1984, he had a very happy family relationship with his wife, his son, his mother and his sister, Jovanka, who was his business partner. But the court heard the onset of his mental illness that year led to his relationships with his family beginning to fall apart.
He began making donations to the Tories, including £13,000 sent in 1990 because 13 was a "magic number".
Miss Montgomery said: "He was gripped by delusions concerning conspiracies, dark forces and plots to kill him that had already begun to poison his relationship with his wife, sister and mother and came to distort much of his world view.
"Those delusions, over time, expanded to poison his relationship with the rest of his family, most of his friends, his professional advisers, his bankers, his business contacts and his colleagues in Transtrade."
Apart from rare flashes of insight, he had no understanding of his illness or of its impact on those around him, it was claimed. As a result, he went to his death believing his delusions - involving Satan's conspirators, international dark forces and mythical beliefs about snakes - were true.
He believed his wife had stolen money from him and had been unfaithful, with numerous male and female lovers. He also believed his mother and sister had conspired to kill his father and brother-in-law. Mr Kostic thought the three women were part of a "devilish organisation by three monster ladies".
Miss Montgomery said the Tories' treasurer's department had stated that, if there were any doubts at all about a testator's capacity to make donations, such donations would be refused.
"However, the alacrity with which this [Mr Kostic's] and other obviously bizarre donations were accepted does not suggest that this policy was applied to donations made by Mr Kostic," she said.
Lawyers for the Conservative Party Association are contesting Zoran Kostic's claim, arguing that the elderly man's paranoid delusions did not poison his affections towards his son.
They told Mr Justice Henderson there were rational explanations as to why he left Zoran out of his will: he had made earlier financial provision for his son, but had since become estranged from him and was disappointed by his career choices.
Andrew Simmonds, QC, the party's barrister, also highlighted Mr Kostic's "great and long-standing affection for the Conservative Party and his admiration for Mrs Thatcher".
He said, while it was accepted Mr Kostic suffered from a delusional disorder, it was not accepted that this rendered him incapable of making a proper will.
The case continues.
2 comments:
Why my dear chap the deceased gentleman who left his loot to the tory party was clearly off his rocker what what !
The only ones benefiting out of this action will be both legal teams.
"Those delusions, over time, expanded to poison his relationship with the rest of his family, most of his friends, his professional advisers, his bankers, his business contacts and his colleagues in Transtrade."
Maybe he found out they were ripping him off ?
I suppose we will never know now.
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