A bitter family feud over a multi-million-pound property fortune has reached the High Court, with a builder accusing his sister of plundering and frittering away their mother's wealth, leaving him with almost nothing.
A Fortune Built and a Family Divided
Gary MacDougall, 70, is locked in a legal war with his sister, Sandra Thomas, 65, and her husband, Lloyd. He alleges they systematically carved up their mother Jeanne's estate, valued at around £5 million during her lifetime, while she was alive and vulnerable. The dispute centres on the final will made in 2011 and a series of property transactions and gifts executed in the years before Jeanne MacDougall's death in 2020.
Mr MacDougall, a director of a bathroom supplies firm in Ealing, told the Daily Mail that his sister's conduct was not just "morally wrong" but "criminally wrong." He claims he only discovered the scale of his disinheritance after his mother passed away, having long assumed her estate would be split equally. "For me it's not about the money. I want to see justice done," he stated.
Allegations of Luxury Spending and 'Financial Abuse'
In court documents, Mr MacDougall's barrister, Harry Martin, laid out a series of stark allegations. He claimed that between 2012 and 2020, more than £2.15 million left Mrs MacDougall's bank accounts, with less than £500,000 spent on her own benefit. The rest, he alleges, funded a lavish lifestyle for Mrs Thomas and her family.
This expenditure allegedly included:
- Their daughter's wedding at the five-star Savoy Hotel in London.
- Frequent expensive meals at the celebrity haunt, The Ivy.
- Holidays in Spain and flights.
- Shopping on Oxford Street.
- A payment of around £30,000 to Jaguar.
Mr Martin described this as treating the accounts "as their own personal bank accounts" and accused the defendants of "financial abuse" under a power of attorney. He also challenged property dealings, including the 2015 gift of a house in Avenue Crescent, west London, which Mr MacDougall says was promised to him and worth £1.7 million.
The Defence: Acting in Good Faith on Mother's Wishes
For their part, Sandra Thomas and her husband robustly deny any wrongdoing. Their barrister, Alexander Learmonth KC, admitted they had "exceeded their authority" under the power of attorney but stated they acted "in good faith" and in line with what they believed their mother wanted.
They argue that the 2011 will, which left Mr MacDougall virtually nothing, was valid and reflected the reality of family relationships. Mr Learmonth claimed Mrs MacDougall had a "particularly close" bond with her daughter, who cared for her consistently, while her relationship with her son was "more distant and often fractious."
Furthermore, the defence states that even if some transactions were rescinded, the money would be returned to bank accounts that—under both the 2008 and 2011 wills—were destined to go to Mrs Thomas anyway.
A 12-Day Trial to Unravel the Truth
The stage is now set for a 12-day High Court trial later this year, which will scrutinise the validity of the 2011 will and the lifetime transactions. Mr MacDougall is seeking to have the earlier 2008 will reinstated, under which he would have received properties potentially worth over £2 million.
His legal team claims his mother suffered from dementia from around 2011 and was "vulnerable to influence," a point the defence strongly contests, stating no diagnosis had been made by 2011. The outcome will hinge on complex legal arguments about testamentary capacity, undue influence, and the proper use of power of attorney.
This deeply personal conflict, born from a substantial property portfolio built up in West London, now serves as a stark public warning about the potential for family strife and alleged exploitation when vast sums of money and elderly vulnerability intersect.
