Millionaire tycoon, 77, ‘couldn’t tell night from day’ when he cut two of his kids out of £55m will
A 77-YEAR-OLD millionaire tycoon “couldn’t tell night from day” when he cut two of his kids out of his £55million will, a court has heard.
Reg Bond’s four children are fighting in court over the final will he left before his death in March 2021.
The racehorse breeder gave much of his fortune away – but left nearly all the remaining £12.3million to his sons Charlie and Graham.
Bond left his other son Mike and his daughter Lindsay just £325,000 each.
Mike, 53, and Lindsay, 55, have now taken their two younger brothers in the High Court – claiming their dad’s will was invalid.
They told the court Reg was too ill to understand what he was signing.
Mike’s wife Rebecca told Mr Justice Michael Green Reg had been in serious mental decline following a brain tumour diagnosis in 2010.
She said Reg was badly affected by a fall in 2014 and his wife Betty’s death the following year – and “couldn’t tell night from day”.
Rebecca said: “From the early part of 2019, if you asked him, Reg would be able to recall anybody from the past.
“But he couldn’t remember what he’d had for lunch that day.
“I always presumed that everything would be split four ways between his four children, as he loved them all equally.”
Lawyers for Charlie, 43, and Greg, 52, deny the claims and say Reg’s health was improving at the time he made the will.
They said Reg was even planning to get behind the wheel of his new Bentley.
Barrister Clare Stanley KC said Rebecca was “seeking to paint a picture because you are helping Mike to win this case”.
Ms Stanley added that Rebecca’s account “was not the truth, is it?”
Rebecca replied: “That’s not correct.”
The court heard how Reg began getting his house in order in 2017 – splitting £43.5million worth of shares in his firm between his kids.
He made a will the same year dividing the £12.3million remainder of his fortune equally between the four children.
But in November 2019 he made a new will leaving £11million in shares to Charlie and Greg alone.
He split the £1.3million left over equally between the kids – with Mike and Lindsay taking away just £325,000 each.
Their younger brothers Greg and Charlie each inherited a total of £5.825million.
BROKEN BOND
Mike and Lindsay’s lawyer Penelope Reed KC said the pair were “dumb-founded” when they learned of the will.
Ms Reed told the court: “Reg Bond was vulnerable and reliant on his carers.
“There is a real suspicion that what ended up in the final will did not represent his testamentary wishes.”
But Charlie and Greg’s lawyer Ms Stanley said Reg considered the two brothers the “bedrock of the business”.
She said Reg had already been “generous” in handing over shares to Mike and Lindsay before his death.
Ms Stanley claimed Lindsay had together with Mike’s daughter Chantelle been “horrible” to Reg’s carers.
Cross-examining Chantelle, 28, Ms Stanley said: “You didn’t care how he felt.
“You fed him rubbish. You kept the curtains shut so he didn’t know whether it was night or day.
“You treated him like a child, putting children’s television on. You treated him with contempt.”
Chantelle replied: “Absolutely not.”
WILL WAVING
Mike and Lindsay claimed there was a “plan” to keep the making of Reg’s disputed new will “secret” from them.
They said the circumstances of its making were “highly suspicious”, although they do not allege fraud.
Charlie and Greg are fighting the claim, insisting doctors’ records prove their dad’s mind was fine.
They claimed a rift had opened up between Lindsay and Reg in his final months.
Clips of Reg around the time of the 2019 will showed him doing squats and other exercises in a gym, the court heard.
He was also filmed celebrating a horse’s win while sitting in a wheelchair.
The trial, which has now entered its third week in court, continues.
How inheritance rules work
But the person must create a valid will in which they specifically stipulate how they want their money, property and other possessions to be handled.
If someone in the UK dies without a will, their estate will be passed to the Crown if no potential relatives are traced within 12 years.
The next of kin does not automatically inherit the estate and will have to prove their relationship along with evidence there is no other closer next of kin to the deceased.
This is ordinarily achieved through providing a birth or marriage certificate.