Woman cut hubby out of will

Muriel Winning, who received her husband Harry's pension into her account and was the sole named owner on the bungalow they shared, amassed her fortune through shrewd investments.

But on her death, 92-year-old Mr Winning discovered that his wife of 33 years, who had cared for him for four years since he lost his sight, had not left him a single penny.

Her estate - £670,000 plus their £180,000 bungalow in South Willingham, near Louth in Lincolnshire - was split between her daughter from a previous relationship, two grandchildren, and a £23,000 donation to charity.

Mr Winning, a former tax officer who had served in the RAF during the Second World War, was left with just his own savings of £40,000, not enough to buy the house he had lived in for the past 30 years.

Mrs Winning had changed her will a year before her death, after her husband went blind, but relatives are still uncertain why she ignored her solictor's advice not to cut him out entirely.

Ann Crisp, his daughter, said that the most likely explanation was that she believed it was unnecessary, as she was sure to outlive her frail husband. Alternatively, she may have thought that her husband had the resources to support himself.

"The will came as a tremendous shock," she added. "Dad found out the day after the funeral and was very traumatised."

Mr Winning was allowed to stay in his home while he launched a legal challenge to the will. He has since been awarded £225,000 in an out-of-court settlement, allowing him to buy a new house in Humberston, Lincolnshire.

"The courts do not like overturning a person's last wishes but they will act when it can be shown that someone dependent on them has not only been treated unfairly but will be left in need," said Rosemary Joyce, Mr Winning's solicitor.

"In general, it is a good idea for spouses to be open with each other about what they have put in their wills and to talk over the potential consequences."
What a nasty piece of work And why did the father have to go to a solicitor at all, if that had happened to my dad he could have had all my share no questions asked!

Opps just read, the daughter wasnt his, but still, she must be as vile as her mother to try and stop an old man getting what was rightfully his.

That's unbelievably callous. I'm with Lou, the old man would never have had to go to court if the property had been left to me. Even if he was my stepdad not biological dad, I'd still have let him live out his life in his own home. I'm glad commonsense prevailed.