Thursday 13 October 2022

Will trickster

Wills are normally dealt with behind closed doors and out of the public eye. It's generally assumed that the will was properly dealt with and the named beneficiaries got whatever was due to them.

But I've commented before that there's little official monitoring of how wills are handled, and there's plenty of scope for skullduggery and fraud if someone is so minded.

As the sole executor of my mum's will, I could easily have siphoned off a large sum by making out she had less money than she actually had. Nobody would have been the wiser as I was the only one with access to all her bank accounts and the true amount in them.

My sister, brother in law and niece all trusted me to deal with the will honestly. I gave them full details of all financial transactions and they never asked me any awkward questions.

It's rare for someone to be taken to court for mishandling a will, but the High Court has just jailed Mark Totton after he failed to pass on £237,500 to his mother's grandson and granddaughter. He has also refused to explain what happened to the money and has given no indication it will be forthcoming.

He was jailed for contempt of court for not providing information about the estate and constantly flouting court orders to do so. He was also ordered to pay the legal bills for his niece and nephew, some £18,000.

He claimed he had suffered depression because of the row over his mother's will - a row caused by his own trickery!

I wonder what happened to the missing money. Is it just salted away in some secret account or has he spent it on wine, women and song?

Pic: Mark Totton

16 comments:

  1. Yes, this is why I handed everything to a solicitor re my Dad's Will and probate - everything above board. I could also see how it could be syphoned off - there should be more checks.
    Sx

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    1. Ms Scarlet: I thought I'd try doing it myself because solicitors are expensive - they usually take a percentage of the estate, which could be a pretty hefty sum. Other people assured me it wasn't that complicated and I should be able to do it myself.

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  2. I agree Nick, there should be more probate investigations. This guy is a scumbag. I'd venture he has a gambling addiction.
    XO
    WWW

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    1. www: That's a possibility. Another possibility is that his business (wedding planning) was in debt and he used the money to pay off his debts.

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  3. Joanne's comment has gone missing. She said: "Just another job in need of regulation. There are plenty of them."

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    1. Joanne: Indeed. Social media for one is crying out for some proper regulation.

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  4. It is shocking how there’s no accountability.

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    1. Bijoux: The lack of serious monitoring is especially surprising when the possibilities for massive fraud are so obvious.

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  5. Ramana Rajgopaul14 October 2022 at 13:57

    My siblings and I consider ourselves very fortunate because we did not inherit anything from either parent. This helped in strengthening the bond between us.

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    1. Ramana: That would certainly simplify matters!

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  6. My very broke friend turned out to have a huge number of collectibles of several types stashed away. When those were sold it turned out he left a lot of money. Who knew?
    Linda Sand

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    1. Linda: I've read many times of people who seem to be desperately poor dying and leaving an astonishing amount of money.

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    2. I think he saw those collectibles as his retirement money. But, he never reached retirement age.

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    3. Linda: That's a shame he never reached retirement age.

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  7. Oh I'm sure he put it somewhere only he would be able to find it.

    My mom didn't have a will when she passed away but both of my brothers trusted me to take care of everything and split the money she had in her bank account. There were no problems between the three of us.

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    1. Mary: If he keeps refusing to give information to the court, he'll just be jailed for longer and longer periods and he won't be able to spend the money anyway! Glad your mum's inheritance was sorted out amicably.

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