SON CONTESTS FATHER'S £400,000 WILL IN LONDON COURT CASE

A taxi driver is challenging his late father's £400,000 will at Central London County Court, in a dispute with his younger brother over their father's final wishes. Gowerdhan Dass died in February 2024, aged 89, having made a will in November 2023, just three months before his death, that left his entire estate to his youngest son, driving instructor Harish Verma, and Harish's wife, Paramjit. Bani Verma, the elder son, argues that an earlier will made in 2015, which divided the estate equally among Gowerdhan's children, should stand instead. Bani's barrister, Richard Buston, told the court that Gowerdhan's money had been "decimated" before his death and alleged that Harish and his wife isolated their "elderly, frail and vulnerable" father from the wider family in his final years. Buston's case also alleges that funds were used to buy a Jaguar Land Rover car for Harish's wife, at a cost of £18,750.

Harish's barrister, Nina Roberts, told Judge Jonathan Cohen that Gowerdhan had visited Harish every day after moving from Southall to Slough in 2010, while continuing to live independently, including spending two to four months each year in India. Harish's side argues that Bani had been emotionally distant from their father and disrespected him, including by wearing a tartan Tam o' Shanter hat at his funeral. The case centres on whether Gowerdhan was "unduly influenced" when he changed his will in 2023, shortly before his death, in favour of Harish and his wife.

The court has yet to rule on which of the two wills is valid. The outcome will determine whether Gowerdhan's estate is divided solely between Harish and his wife, or shared among all of his children's families under the terms of the 2015 will. Proceedings at Central London County Court are continuing.