Four charities are suing a will and probate company for an alleged mistake that caused them to miss out on a £1m bequest.
Battersea, Dogs Trust, Médecins Sans Frontières and the RNLI have filed a claim for breach of professional liability against Legal Love Letters, a south London-based firm officially registered as Will & Probate Company.
According to a report by the Times, donor Rosemary Hill had signed a will days before she died in 2018 leaving the bulk of her wealth in legacy payments to the four charities.
Cheryl Penry, who owned Legal Love Letters and was Hill’s friend, visited her home and signed the will as a witness.
However, Penry later took the document back to the company’s office where it was signed by another staff member.
Since Hill was not present when the staff signed the 2018 document, it was deemed invalid so probate was issued on a previous will instead which did not include payments to the charities.
The four charities claimed that Penry should have been accompanied to Hill’s home by another staff member to witness the signature or should have asked someone nearby to sign the document, the Times reported.
The 2018 will was supposed to leave sums totalling £51,000 to charities, various friends and godchildren of Hill, while the remainder was to be shared among the claimant charities.
Médecins Sans Frontières was allocated half of the amount, the RNLI was to receive a quarter, and Dogs Trust was to receive 20% with the remainder to the Battersea Dogs & Cats Home.
The RNLI, Battersea and Dogs Trust all told Civil Society that as it is an ongoing case, it would be inappropriate for them to comment further at this time.
Civil Society has asked the Will & Probate Company to comment.
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