A man who took his 92-year-old mother to court alleging that she had forged his late father’s will has had his claim firmly rejected by the High Court. Ruling in Carlton Aldo Watts v Jobyna Watts, Master Clark accepted the evidence of the solicitor who drafted the will in 2000 over the 'circumstantial' evidence of 'marginal relevance' submitted by the disinherited son. 

He also had 'no hesitation' in accepting the evidence of the mother's expert witness over that of the claimant's expert.

The judge observed that the claimant, Carlton Aldo Watts, held 'a fixed belief that his mother has dishonestly and unfairly deprived him of his entitlement to his father’s estate, and that this has coloured and distorted his view of the factual matters relevant to this case.’ 

The dispute arose following the death of Eustace Watts in 2008. He left his entire estate to Jobyna Watts, his wife of 45 years. The following year Carlton Watts complained to the police that is mother had committed offences of fraud and money laundering. He put on his car a large notice saying 'Jobyna Watts forged her husband's will and stole his money.'

Carlton commenced his forgery claim in 2020, arguing that a 1994 will had left him one third of the estate. The judge accepted this assertion but said it would have been 'of marginal relevance to the forgery claim'. 

Overall, he found Carlton 'not to be a credible witness'.

By contrast, Sarah Evans, the solicitor who took instructions for the 2000 will and arranged and witnessed its execution 'had a clear recollection' of the matter. Watts was a long-standing client of her firm Lane Heardman and known as 'quite a character'.

Although the will file was no longer in existence, the judge said it was clear that Evans had met the deceased on two separate occasions. 'It is conceivable that a solicitor might have no recollection of these occasions, but, in my judgment, inconceivable that she would misremember them with the level of detail that Ms Evans has recalled.' 

He ruled that the 2000 will is not a forgery.

 

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