NEPHEW JAILED FOR ABUSE THREATS TO LAWYERS OVER AUNT'S WILL

Dr Sean Stimson, an IT expert, has been jailed for 28 days and ordered to pay £35,000 in court costs after sending abusive emails and letters to lawyers handling his aunt's estate. The High Court heard that Stimson wrote to Foot Anstey LLP, the law firm administering the £200,000 estate of his aunt Helen Smith, using insulting language and threatening violence towards the firm's employees. Mr Justice Griffiths imposed the sentence for contempt of court, finding that Stimson had breached a previous order prohibiting such conduct.

Stimson's aunt died in 2021 and left her estate, primarily comprising a Swindon home, to the RSPCA and other charities under a 2016 will. Stimson disputes the will's validity, claiming his aunt lacked mental capacity when she made it and that a later 2020 will reflected her true wishes to keep the property in the family. The dispute with Foot Anstey resulted in a harassment claim against Stimson which was settled last year and included a court order forbidding him from further abusive conduct towards the firm.

The judge noted that Stimson had aggravated the contempt offences by stating afterwards that he believed he would "get away with it because jails are full". Stimson continues to dispute his aunt's will through legal channels, but the court proceedings against him for contempt have now concluded with the immediate jail term and financial penalty.