A woman pressured her dying cousin to bequeath everything to her, excluding everyone else – even his own daughter – a magistrate found.
The will was changed just four days before the man, too weak to resist, passed away. However, he did have the presence of mind to leave a telltale sign: he altered his signature to indicate he did not agree with it, the court heard.
Calligraphy experts and many witnesses confirmed that the man, who this newspaper decided not to name, was very worried about his only daughter’s welfare because she suffered from schizophrenia and he wanted to leave everything to her. He had even opened a trust fund with HSBC Bank to make sure she was catered for.
He had consented to leave his cousin some money on condition she looked after his daughter. But the cousin was not happy and wanted to take everything for herself. She even tried to bribe the psychiatrist treating the daughter to certify her unfit to handle her own affairs, the court heard.
He changed his signature to indicate he did not agree with it
After her father’s death, the daughter took the matter to court and requested that the will be declared null and void.
Magistrate Josette Demicoli heard that, four days before the man died, he was made to sign a will on February 11, 2009, leaving everything to his cousin.
The document immediately raised suspicions because two of the signatures on the document differed from the other two.
The man’s wife had died before him but prior to her death the couple had made a will ensuring that their only daughter was taken care of and benefited from all their substantial assets.
The woman, however, claimed that when her cousin, his wife and their daughter returned to Gozo from Australia they had told her they would leave everything to her, thus ensuring the daughter would be cared for.
Magistrate Demicoli did not believe the cousin’s version because the agreement that was supposed to have been struck was not mentioned in any of the two wills that existed.
The magistrate noted that it did not make sense for the man to worry so much about his daughter’s welfare and then, four days before he died, decide to leave everything to his cousin.
The daughter recalled when she testified that, before her mother died, she had told her not to trust her father’s cousin. Her father had also told her that his cousin was bothering him when he was in hospital.
The magistrate said that, although the daughter had mental problems, she was capable of making informed and rational decisions, according to her psychiatrist who had treated her for a number of years.
Magistrate Demicoli also noted that a doctor testified that the man had told him that he was angry at his cousin’s insistence that he should bequeath some of his assets to her, adding that he would leave nothing to anybody.