Karnail Singh, who died in 2021, left nothing for wife Harbans Kaur and four daughters, as he handed all of his 1.2 million euros estate to his two sons
London: An 83-year-old Sikh woman, whose late husband of 66 years left her out of his will, has won a high court battle in London for a share of an estate worth more than 1 million euros (Rs 9.8 crore), a report in The Tribune, Chandigarh, says.
Karnail Singh, who died in 2021, left nothing for wife Harbans Kaur and four daughters, as he handed all of his 1.2 million euros estate to his two sons, The Guardian reported.
Justice Robert Peel concluded in a ruling this week that he was satisfied that Karnail Singh did not make reasonable provision for Harbans Kaur, his wife of 66 years, despite her “full and equal contribution” to the marriage and also to the family’s erstwhile clothing business.
According to the court documents, one of the sons who is a beneficiary of the will did not oppose his mother’s claim, but the second son did not participate in the proceedings.
“I am satisfied that a) the deceased’s estate did not make reasonable provision for C [Claimant Harbans Kaur]; b) C should receive 50 per cent of the net value of the estate, and the disposition of the estate affected by the will should be varied to that effect,” Justice Peel concluded.
He also directed that a sum of 20,000 pounds should be “forthwith paid to the claimant” from the estate by way of monies on account of final distribution to her and her legal costs should also be met out of the estate, deducted from the gross value of the estate before an equal division.
Kaur, , estimated the estate to be worth 1.9 million euros gross but one of her sons put the value at 1.2 million euros, the court was told.
Ruling that Kaur, who married Singh in 1955, should get 50 per cent of the net value of the estate, the judge said that it was clear “reasonable provision” had not been made for the widow, whose income consisted of state benefits of about 12,000 euros.
Hearing the case in London’s family division of the high court, Peel said proof showed that Kaur had played a “full role” in the marriage and worked in the family’s clothing business.
“After a marriage of 66 years, to which she made a full and equal contribution, and during which all the assets accrued, she is left with next to nothing,” Peel said, while pronouncing the judgment.
“She does not pursue a case, sometimes advanced in financial remedies proceedings, that she should receive a greater share than 50 per cent in order to meet her needs. Her intention is to purchase a modest property near her daughter,” the judge notes.
The court was told that she is registered as a disabled person. Since the death of her husband, she also moved out of the family home because one of the sons, with whom relations are very strained, moved in.
She currently lives with her daughter and wishes to have enough funds to be able to buy a place nearby.
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