The BBC’s latest four-part TV drama series The Sixth Commandment highlighted a true story of vulnerable people being conned and manipulated to change their Wills.
The drama was based on a real case about a young man, Benjamin Field, who targeted much older, lonely and vulnerable people, tricking them into believing they were in loving relationships with him, so that he could exploit them financially, including influencing them into making Wills in his favour.
John Breeze, the head of Wake Smith’s Will, Trust and Inheritance Disputes team comments after watching the show.
This article covers:
- The background
- The law in practice
- Wills made later in life, when losing mental capacity or with unexpected contents
- Legal safeguards and challenges
- Guarding elderly and vulnerable loved ones
- Your next move
The background
Benjamin Field’s first target, Peter Farquhar, was a retired head teacher and university lecturer. Field took things to extremes, systematically drugging his victim and playing tricks on him, rendering him isolated and entirely reliant on his abuser.
Field secured a new Will in his own favour, before killing his victim to claim his inheritance, making his death appear accidental.
He swiftly moved on to his second target, Mr Farquhar’s elderly neighbour Ann Moore-Martin, whom he seduced and subsequently convinced to give him more than £30,000, and persuading her also to make a new Will benefiting him.
Thankfully, Miss Moore-Martin’s niece Ann-Marie came to the rescue, separating Field from her Aunt and reporting her concerns about Field to the police.
In the face of charges of murdering Mr Farquhar and attempting to murder Miss Moore-Martin, Field admitted to lesser offences of fraud on the basis he had duped both victims into fake relationships for financial gain and to get them to change their Wills in his favour.
However, despite his denials he was convicted of murder in 2019 and sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 36 years.
The law in practice
As a solicitor specialising in civil and family disputes regarding Wills and deceased’s estates, I am pleased to say that someone being murdered for an inheritance is not something I have had to deal with in practice.
However, in such cases the legal “forfeiture rule” prevents killers from benefiting from their crimes, including by inheriting in their victim’s estate.
But the story also raises issues and themes which I do frequently encounter, and where the law, or at least its application, is not quite so black and white.
At an early stage in the drama we saw university student Field showering his highly intelligent and capable tutor, Mr Farquhar, with the sort of apparent love and affection he had previously denied himself as a devout Catholic struggling to reconcile his religion with his sexuality.
There soon followed an emotional scene featuring a row between Mr Farquhar and his brother Ian, who was concerned to learn that Field had moved in, and that a new Will was in place for his benefit. Eventually, after Mr Farquhar delivered a passionate and eloquent defence of his new love and of his right to live life on his own terms, Ian accepted the situation, saying: “I just want my brother to be happy”.
A similar scene played out later in the drama, when it was Miss Moore-Martin’s turn to try to convince her increasingly alarmed niece, Ann-Marie, of Field’s honourable intentions, including his proposal of marriage. But Ann-Marie was not won over, and for a short time at least Field managed to drive a wedge between them, souring what had always been a very close relationship.
And it is in this complicated and emotional area of family and personal relationships that I find a lot of my practice lies.
Wills made later in life, when losing mental capacity or with unexpected contents
I am commonly asked after a person’s death to investigate the circumstances in which their Will was made, especially if made later in life, when they may have been struggling with dementia or become dependant on others, and if the Will has unexpected contents.
When it comes to matters of inheritance, it seems people can have very different ideas about what is right and wrong, fair and unfair. But, at the centre of it all lies the fundamental principle of English law that is testamentary freedom, a person’s right to leave their estate by their Will to whoever they choose.
A person may chop and change their Will any number of times before they die to reflect their evolving wishes, and it is only their final Will, if signed in the presence of two independent witnesses in accordance with the Wills Act 1837, which applies, and may be quite different to what has gone before, or go against what has been promised.
Legal safeguards and challenges
There are some legal safeguards, as a Will can be challenged in the High Court on the basis that it resulted from undue influence or fraud, but the burden of proof is squarely on the challenger.
Successful claims on these grounds are rare as there is usually little direct evidence. The suspected coercion or fraud usually takes place behind closed doors and covered up. An offender is very unlikely to admit to what they have done, and the victim is no longer here to speak out.
More commonly, Wills made by elderly people are challenged on the basis that they had lost mental capacity, for example through dementia or other serious health condition. That is a separate matter of course, and may be as much a medical issue as a legal one.
However, with an ageing population and dementia diagnoses on the rise, it is not difficult to see how a person’s declining cognitive and physical abilities can be taken advantage of by someone seeking to benefit from their estate.
Guarding elderly and vulnerable loved ones
We must hope we can all be as vigilant as Ann Moore-Martin’s niece in guarding our elderly and vulnerable loved ones becoming isolated and preyed on by would-be financial abusers, so that in life as well as in death their personal freedom of choice may be protected.
Where there are concerns, help should be available from the police and local authority safeguarding teams, who are under a duty to investigate when reports are made.
Your next move
Whenever there is a dispute or concerns about the validity of a deceased person’s Will, we can provide advice and representation with a view to resolving the matter as quickly and cost-effectively as possible.
For further information please contact John Breeze at [email protected] or Rachel Valentine at [email protected], or click the 'contact us' button below to enquire online.
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