Jonathan Henry Leonard v Margaret Rose Leonard (by her litigation friend Sharon Thompsett)
| Jurisdiction | England & Wales |
| Judge | Mrs Justice Joanna Smith |
| Judgment Date | 20 February 2024 |
| Neutral Citation | [2024] EWHC 321 (Ch) |
| Court | Chancery Division |
| Docket Number | Case No: PT-2021-000730 |
[2024] EWHC 321 (Ch)
Mrs Justice Joanna Smith DBE
Case No: PT-2021-000730
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE
BUSINESS AND PROPERTY COURTS OF ENGLAND AND WALES
PROPERTY, TRUSTS AND PROBATE LIST (ChD)
IN THE ESTATE OF DR JACK LAWRENCE LEONARD DECEASED (PROBATE)
Royal Courts of Justice, Rolls Building
Fetter Lane, London, EC4A 1NL
Ms Constance McDonnell KC and Mr George Vare (instructed by Birketts LLP) for the Claimants
Mr Thomas Dumont KC and Mr Edward Hicks (instructed by Ashtons Legal LLP) for the First and Third to Seventh Defendants
The Second Defendant did not appear and was not represented
Hearing dates: 28–30 November, 4–8 & 11–12 December 2023
APPROVED JUDGMENT
This judgment was handed down remotely by email on Tuesday 20 February, 2024 by circulation to the parties or their representatives by email and released to the National Archives.
. In this case, the Claimants, Dr Jack Leonard's children from his first marriage, invite the court to pronounce against a will signed by him at home in October 2015 (“ the 2015 Will”) without any professional supervision, and instead admit to probate an earlier will made in 2007 (“ the 2007 Will”). The only issues are whether Dr Leonard had testamentary capacity at the time of executing the 2015 Will and whether he knew and approved the contents of that will. Although there are a number of important differences between the two wills, the principal difference is that, under the 2015 Will, Dr Leonard's children are considerably worse off financially than they would have been under the 2007 Will, because the effect of the 2015 Will is to bequeath a substantial portion of Dr Leonard's estate to the First and Third to Seventh Defendants, that is his second wife, Margaret, and her family (i.e. Dr Leonard's stepchildren and step-grandchildren).
. The disputed 2015 Will went through a number of drafts and took two years to finalise. It was prepared not by a solicitor, but by a chartered tax adviser who did not take any precautions to ensure that Dr Leonard (who by this stage was in his early 80s) had capacity and that he understood the will that he finally signed. She did not see or speak (except by email) to Dr Leonard for nearly a year before he executed the 2015 Will, despite changes in his instructions and, what the Claimants contend, were obvious warning signs as to his cognitive ability. Nevertheless, the Defendants say that there is no reason to doubt Dr Leonard's ability to make the 2015 Will, that Dr Leonard had complete testamentary freedom to dispose of his estate as he pleased and that it is no surprise in any event that he wanted to benefit Margaret and her family.
. It is common ground that the 2007 Will should be admitted to probate if the 2015 Will was invalid on either or both grounds advanced by the Claimants.
. Throughout this judgment I shall refer to Dr Leonard (“ Jack”) and his family members and extended family members by their first names (as the parties have done throughout) with no disrespect intended.
Background to the Case
. In order to place the evidence as to Jack's mental capacity and as to the circumstances of the making of the 2015 Will into a proper context, I must begin by setting out some largely uncontroversial details about Jack's life and his familial relationships.
. Jack was born on 2 November 1931. He was educated at Manchester Grammar School before serving an apprenticeship at Ferranti and then going on to gain a BSc in Electrical Engineering at Manchester University in 1953. He earned his PhD in control systems there in 1957.
. Whilst at Manchester University, Jack met Audrey, who was working as a secretary to the head of the Electrical Engineering Department, and they married in December 1958. Their marriage was very happy and they were devoted to one another for 40 years.
. In 1965, Jack joined forces with several colleagues to form Eurotherm, a company specialising in the design and production of temperature control solutions. Eurotherm's business was extremely successful and in the early 1970s, Jack moved his family to the United States of America where he established a US branch. The family lived at this time in Virginia, buying a property at Vale Road in Oakton, Virginia in 1979 (“ the Vale Road Property”). Not least by dint of Jack's own hard work and dedication, Eurotherm became very profitable in the US and Jack became the Worldwide Group Managing Director in 1977, steering the company to a flotation on the stock market in 1978.
. Jack and Audrey had four children, the four Claimants in these proceedings, Jonathan, Andrew, Sara and Megan. All four remember a very happy and loving childhood, albeit that they were all aware of the demands of their father's job. In 1980, Jack relocated to the United Kingdom and settled close to the Sussex Downs. Sara and Megan, who were both still at school, returned with their parents, while Jonathan and Andrew remained in the US. By this time, Jack was a wealthy man. He retained the Vale Road Property and bought a substantial house named Downs Edge in Findon, West Sussex (“ Downs Edge”).
. At around this time, Jack developed a passion for helicopters, becoming a pilot, purchasing a Robinson R-22 and setting up a business called Findon Air Services. In 1990, assisted by his accountant, Mr David Smart (“ Mr Smart”), he incorporated a limited company, FAST Helicopters Limited (“ FAST”), dedicated to providing flight training together with the hiring out of helicopters and pilots and the leasing of hangar space to other helicopters and aircraft owners. Jack and Audrey were both shareholders and directors of FAST. Jack retired from Eurotherm in the mid-1990s, three months shy of his 65 th birthday, but continued to pursue his love of flying and remained involved in FAST.
. In 1994, in circumstances to which I shall return, Jack purchased a pub in Hatherleigh, Devon, called the Tally Ho! using a new company set up for that purpose, LT Hostelries (“ LTH”), which also ran the business. Jack was the majority shareholder in LTH. Once again, Mr Smart assisted him in setting up this new business venture.
. Shortly after Jack's retirement, Audrey was diagnosed with terminal cancer and, after a short illness, during which Jack went to great lengths to ensure that she received the best possible care, she died in May 1998. Audrey left her estate (with a net value of £1,708,230) to Jack. The vast majority, if not all, of the money in this estate came from joint assets owned by Jack and Audrey, including their interest in Eurotherm.
. Jack felt Audrey's loss acutely. However, he began internet dating and met Margaret, who became his second wife on 7 November 1999.
. Margaret was a widow and had three children from her previous marriage to Thomas Leslie Smith (“ Thomas”) who died in 1994. The Third and Fourth Defendants, Mark and Elizabeth (“ Liz”), are two of her children. Her third child, Melanie, very sadly died in March 2005 at the age of only 44. Melanie had three children before her death who are grandchildren to Margaret: the Fifth to Seventh Defendants, Charlotte, Michael and Melissa. I shall refer where necessary in this judgment to Margaret's children and grandchildren collectively as “ Margaret's family” to differentiate them from Jack's children and grandchildren.
. It is common ground that Jack and Margaret had a very good marriage and were extremely happy together. They travelled extensively all over the world, enjoying each other's company and often sharing holidays with other family members, particularly members of Margaret's family.
. In February 2000, Jack and Margaret purchased a new home in their joint names at 2 Hutton Place, Hutton, Brentwood, Essex (“ 2 Hutton Place”), at a price of £535,000, funded as to £50,000 by Margaret and the balance by Jack. For a while, Jack and his children continued to use Downs Edge as a family home where they could meet, but Jack sold it in 2005. In 2006 Jack bought a villa in Plan de la Tour in France (“ the French Property”) in his sole name, where he and Margaret spent time with family and friends. I understand the French Property to be worth something in the region of 600,000 Euros.
. Jack's wealth enabled him to become involved in making financial investments and setting up tax efficient structures and he retained private bankers at Barclays to provide him with appropriate advice. His wealth also enabled him to be very generous to his children, his extended family and (as time went on) to Margaret and Margaret's family. Thus,
a. he bought the Tally Ho! through LTH for about £380,000 with the intention that Megan and her then husband, Jason Tidy (“ Jason”), would run it. Jason and Megan each had a very small percentage of the shares in LTH. Although Megan subsequently divorced from Jason in 1996 (with the financial assistance of her parents), Jack continued to run LTH until around July 2013 when the Tally Ho! was sold for £390,000. In July 2001, Jack loaned £75,000 to Megan and her new partner, Geoff Dawber (“ Geoff”) to enable them to purchase a property in Bolton, a loan they subsequently repaid.
b. after Audrey's death, Jack sold the Vale Road Property (in which Andrew had been living) and bought a house in Warrenton, Virginia (“ the US Property”) for US$415,000. Andrew and his partner Melinda Jane Burnette (“ Jane”) have lived in the US Property ever since. Andrew has long term medical problems including a diagnosis of PTSD following an extremely...
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