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Two women have been caught forging their partner’s will in an effort to claim his multi-million pound estate.

Chris John, a wealthy property developer died suddenly in 2008 leaving an estate worth some £5m including property and sports cars.  He did not leave a will.

Shortly after his death it was clear that he had not finalised his divorce from his wife Helen.  It appeared as though she would inherit the estate rather than his girlfriend Gillian Clemo.

Upon hearing this, Ms Clemo allegedly miraculously found a will in Mr John’s name which named Mr John’s sister as executors and herself as a key beneficiary.

Mrs John then added her own addition to the newly discovered will and the police started investigating.

The Prosecution told the court how Mrs John had admitted falsifying the will and had received a police caution.

The police then investigated Mrs Clemo’s document which was found to be riddled with errors, including the misspelling of the name of Mr John’s 15-year-old daughter, which raised police suspicion.

By the time Mr John died, he had been separated from his wife for more than seven years, but there had been no decree absolute to end the marriage. 

Mrs Clemo denies using a forged will under the Forgery and Counterfeiting Act and the case continues.

This case raises lots of interesting questions from a forensic accounting perspective – in particular how to value the Deceased’s business and property portfolio to determine the true value of his estate.

Frenkels Forensics can assist with all aspects of divorce investigations including business valuations and asset tracing. 

For more information please contact John Frenkel or Vivian Cohen on 020 8457 2929.