Woman wins fight for a share of her dead lover's estate
14th Feb 2008
The lover of a businessman who committed suicide has won a court battle with his family to be given a share of his £3m estate.
Cyd Negus and Henry Bahouse met in 1995 and went on to enjoy a lavish lifestyle together. Ms Negus told the High Court that Mr Bahouse had promised to look after her and they had even intended to marry. However, Mr Bahouse suffered from diabetes and depression and took his own life without rewriting his will to provide for her. His family inherited his estate.
She challenged the will on the grounds that the law allows someone who was financially dependent on the deceased to lodge a claim if they have not been provided for in the will. Ms Negus won her case with the judge deciding that she had effectively been Mr Bahouse’s wife in all but name and he had intended to provide for her. She was awarded more than £600,000 with the rest of the estate going to Mr Bahouse’s family.
The case was no doubt traumatic and difficult for all concerned and raises some interesting points. The first and most obvious is that this kind of stress and heartache could be avoided if people make a will and keep it up to date. That way they can ensure their estate is divided according to their wishes.
The other point is that it is possible in certain circumstances to successfully challenge a will if a person feels their reasonable expectations to inherit have not been met.
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