Millionaire shuns partner of 42 years in will, but judge overrules it

A judge has saved a grieving woman from poverty by overruling her late partner’s final wishes, after he chose to leave her out of his will and bequeath his entire fortune to two tenants.

Wynford Hodge, 94, had lived with his partner Joan Thompson, 79, for 42 years, but when he died last year – she discovered she had been left out of his entire £1.5million (AU$2.7million) fortune.

He owned the extensive Parsonage Farm and Caravan Park in Pembrokeshire, UK, and according to the Daily Mail, he left a note with his will stating his partner was already financially stable, and didn’t wish to leave anything to her or their four children.

However, in a rare move, a judge has overturned his final wish, after it was revealed Joan was far from “financially comfortable” as he had claimed – with just £2,500 (AU$4,500) saved.

Read more: Judge overrules woman’s last wishes

She was reportedly living on benefits in a nursing home, but wished to return to the family estate to be near her friends, and Judge Milwyn Jarman ruled Hodge had failed to meet his responsibilities to his widow.

He awarded his partner a cottage on the estate worth £225,000, as well as almost £190,000 in cash to aid a refurbishment of the home and support her financially.

According to the publication, the court heard that Hodge made around 10 wills before his death from prostate cancer, and had reassured his partner she’d be looked after before he passed away. His last will was written just months before his death last year, signed in December 2016, and in it he left his fortune to a kindly couple on the estate, who had been good to him in his final days and helped him with odd jobs.

Read more: Our dad ‘disinherited’ us for new family, now he wants to mend rift

Joan and her son Dean moved into a caravan at Parsonage Farm in the 1970s, before moving in with Hodge in the farmhouse shortly after. From there, it’s claimed she helped care for his sick mother and worked for free on the estate. As Hodge’s own health began to deteriorate later in their relationship, she took on the role of his main carer, too.

Speaking in court, the judge ruled that by disinheriting her and his children, he had failed to meet the “obligations and responsibilities” he owed her. The couple who were named in his will are still expected to receive the majority of his fortune, alongside their two children.

Would you consider cutting a partner out of your will like this? Did the judge make the right decision in overturning his final wishes?