Elderly brother and sister embroiled in bitter will dispute
A £2million fortune stuck in a ‘legal limbo’ continues to be the subject of a long-running will dispute between an elderly brother and sister.
In his will, Mr Ted Townsend, who passed away in 2004, wished for his £2million fortune to be split equally between son and daughter, Edward Townsend, 67, and Fay Crabbe, 74.
But since his passing, the duo have found themselves locked in a 12-year legal battle after they found themselves at loggerheads over a 2.5 acre tract in Dorchester on Thames, said to be worth around £135,000.
The duo have failed to reach an amicable agreement outside of Courts due to their reluctance to meet with one another – which son Edward claims all too often leads to violence.
“The reason I don’t meet with my sister is because, on one occasion at Bridge Villa, she slapped my face and I vowed I’d never be put in that position again,” Edward told Judge John Martin QC in Court.
The Judge also heard that the stubborn siblings had found themselves in disagreement over who would pay their father’s £396,000 inheritance tax bill.
The late Mr Townsend’s legacy comprises a house, a portfolio of shares worth £1.1m, the disputed tract and a successful caravan and holiday park in Oxfordshire.
Both parties continue to battle it out in Court, determined to secure what they believe is their fair share of Mr Ted Townsend’s estate.
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