Millionaire mum ‘cut her son out of her will after he cheated on his wife’

A 70-year-old man was ‘left with virtually nothing’ from his mother’s 5million fortune because she was ‘ashamed’ of him for cheating on his wife, a court heard. Gary MacDougall, 70, had expected his multi-millionaire mother Jeanne MacDougall’s estate to be split between him, his sister Sandra Thomas, 65, and her husband, Lloyd ‘Philip’ Thomas.But after a change of her will in 2011 and a series of property sales and gifts, Mr MacDougall was left with ‘nil’ to inherit when the matriarch d!ed in April 2020. He is now suing his sister and brother-in-law at the High Court, accusing them of plundering 1.685million of his mother’s money while she was still alive. In court this week, Mr MacDougall was forced to deny his mother had reason to cut him out, including her shame at him having cheated on his wife, Anna, with a local council worker. His sister’s lawyers said that Jeanne, as a member of an older, more traditional generation, was ‘disappointed’ and ‘ashamed’ of her son. They said she supported Mr. MacDougall’s wife amid his infidelity and may have cut him out of the will after ‘brooding’ about his actions. But Mr MacDougall denied he was disinherited because of his affair, telling a judge his ‘sharp as a tack’ mother would have given him ‘both barrels’ if she had genuinely been so angry at him. He also claims Mr. and Mrs. Thomas exercised ‘undue influence’ over Jeanne when she was not mentally capable in order to secure a 1.7million house that had been gifted to him. The MacDougall family fortune derived from the siblings’ property developer father, Alec MacDougall’s ‘substantial real estate portfolio’, Judge Nicola Rushton KC heard. He renovated properties in the Acton and Ealing areas of west London before renting them out, generating significant profits. Harry Martin, acting for Mr MacDougall, said his parents had made it clear before their deaths that he and his sister Mrs Thomas would receive ‘broadly equal financial treatment and inheritance.’ This included Alec MacDougall telling his son that he would not require a significant pension pot because he would inherit property that would support him in retirement, according to the barrister. Following their father’s de@th, Jeanne MacDougall made a will in 2008 which Mr Martin said amounted to a ‘broadly equal’ split of the family’s London property empire between her son and his family on one side and daughter and son-in-law on the other. Under that will, Mr MacDougall and his family would receive properties in Avenue Crescent and Berrymead Gardens, while his sister and brother-in-law got houses in Stuart Road and Avenue Gardens and most of the cash in her bank accounts. But another will was then made in 2011, under which all four properties went to the Mrs Thomas and her husband. The will stated that Mr MacDougall and Mrs Thomas would split some cash savings, but due to the costs and expenses of estate administration, that was ‘likely to be worth nil,’ Mr Martin says. Mr MacDougall, who had worked with his mother in the family business, claims the will is invalid due to the influence Mrs Thomas and her husband had on their mother, who had by then ‘lost almost all of her independence.’ He is challenging the 2015 gift to Mrs Thomas and her husband of the Avenue Crescent house, which he says was promised to him and worth 1.7miilion, but done at a time when his mother did not have capacity to make it. His sister values it at under 1million. Mr MacDougall is also laying claim to a share of about 1.685million of his mother’s money, which he says was ‘misappropriated’ from her bank accounts before she died and spent by his sister and brother-in-law on themselves and their family. The money went on meals at the Ivy, holidays, new cars, shopping trips, their daughter’s wedding at the Savoy, and other things, he says. But acting for the couple, who are now estranged, Alexander Learmonth KC denied any undue influence on their part and the suggestion that their mother was not capable of making a valid will, as there were no signs of any problems beyond occasional absent-mindedness. He also claims the pensioner lacked the necessary mental capacity due to dementia when she signed the will and did not properly understand its effect, having been made at a time when she was elderly and dependent on his sister and brother-in-law. And insisted there were perfectly valid reasons why had changed her will in favour of her daughter and son-in-law, who had looked after her in her old age. Mr. Learmonth told the judge: ‘Like all testators, Jeanne clearly had a variety of reasons for wanting to make a new will in the terms she did. ‘To some extent, it would be speculation as to what they were, and the court is not required to indulge in that, but they certainly included a sense of how well-off Gary had become, and gratitude for the time and care given her by Philip and Sandra. ‘They may also have included growing irritation with Gary, whether that be his marital infidelity, sharp words in the office, infrequency of visits or otherwise. ‘It certainly cannot be said that the 2011 will is in any way irrational.’ Cross-examining Mr MacDougall in the witness box, Mr Learmonth put it to him that his mother had been disappointed with him when he had an admitted affair with a council worker in 2008. ‘Your mother, being of the older generation and being fond of your wife, was not happy with you, was she?’ he said. ‘She was very disappointed with what you had done.’ Mr MacDougall replied: ‘She wasn’t happy, no – she was delighted when it concluded. ‘She reminded me of my responsibilities, but it was a very brief fling. If she was cross with me, mum would’ve let me know. She would’ve given me both barrels.’ Mr MacDougall insisted that the fact that the affair happened before his mother made her ‘broadly equal’ 2008 will showed his infidelity didn’t affect her decisions. The trial continues.The post Millionaire mum ‘cut her son out of her will after he cheated on his wife’ appeared first on Linda Ikeji Blog.