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Frederick Ward left each of his granddaughters just £50 (Image: Champion News) "Strong willed" former soldier Frederick Ward Snr, who died in 2020, all but cut out his dead son

Fred Jnr's five adult kids because he was disappointed and "upset" they didn't visit him very often in his later years. Instead, his last will split almost all of his

fortune between his kids, Terry Ward and Susan Wiltshire, with Fred Jr's five daughters - Carol Gowing, Angela St Marseille, Amanda Higginbotham, Christine Ward and Janet Pett - being

handed just £50 each in envelopes. After learning they had been "left out" of the will, the sisters sued, claiming they should get their late dad's one-third share of their

grandfather's money, and accusing their Uncle Terry and Aunt Susan of having "unduly influenced" him into changing his will. But their case was thrown out by High Court judge,

Master James Brightwell, who in March said it was "entirely rational" for the "disappointed" grandad to cut out his grandkids due to their "very limited

contact" with him in his latter years. Now following a new hearing, the five sisters have been left facing a crushing £220,000-plus bill to cover their aunt and uncle's costs of

defending the claim against them, as well as their own lawyers' bills. Lawyers for the five granddaughters had argued that they should not pay all the costs of the case, accusing their

uncle of "provocative" behaviour, and asking for some of the bills of the fight to come out of their grandad's estate. But the judge said the cause of the bitter court battle

was the change in the relationship between granddaughters and grandfather, who had become disappointed at their limited contact after Fred Jnr died. He ordered Ms Gowing and her sisters to

pay £100,000 up front towards a total defence legal bill estimated at £136,470, with VAT to be added on. The sisters own legal costs were £85,688.50. During the trial of the row last year,

the court heard Fred Ward Snr, an "independent and strong minded" former soldier, cable joiner and regular social club user who lived in Willow Road, South Ealing, London, died

aged 91 in 2020. He had three kids, Fred Jr, Terry and Susan, and had previously made a will which split his estate, including his £450,000 maisonette, between all three. But Fred Jr -

father to the five sisters - died before his dad in 2015, following which the family fell out, with Mr Ward not seeing much of Fred Jr's side of the family. When his final 2018 will was

read out by Terry after his death, a bitter shouting match broke out - which was recorded and played to the court - when it was revealed that the five sisters had been all but cut out. From

a fortune valued at around £500,000, they were handed envelopes containing just £50 each in cash by their Uncle Terry. They then sued, claiming that their grandad's last will was

invalid, having been made when he was "an ill man" and "frightened" of Terry, who "coerced" him into making it. They also pointed the finger at their aunt

Susan, accusing her of exerting "undue influence" over their grandad. Their barrister told the judge that Terry had developed a particular "hate" for his niece Carol

Gowing after a family falling out over a property, and said there was a "palpable...dislike between the two sides of the family". Maxwell Myers, for the pair, denied all the

allegations and told the court: "When ones dies, one is entitled to leave one's property to whoever one pleases." Giving judgment, Master Brightwell cleared Terry and Sue of

the allegations made by the sisters and described the 2018 will as "rational" in the circumstances, given that Fred Jr's children had not seen much of their grandfather after

their dad's death in 2015. "It is most likely that given the changed circumstances following Fred Jr's death and the limited contact with the claimants after then that Fred

became disappointed with the claimants," he said. The case returned to court last week for a decision on who pays the lawyers' bills for the case. Both sides blamed each other for

starting the court fight, with Mr Myers telling the judge that, given the nature of the allegations against them, Terry and Sue had been forced to defend themselves. But James McKean, for

the sisters, said they had been "compelled to issue proceedings" when their aunt and uncle "withdrew an undertaking not to distribute the estate" and pointed to

"provocative" behaviour by Terry at the will reading. He argued that, despite losing the fight, the five sisters shouldn't have to pay all of their aunt and uncle's

costs, saying that some of the costs should be paid out of the estate. Rejecting that request, the judge said: "The deceased had made a promise whilst he was alive that, should one of

his children die, their children would inherit their share. Did the behaviour of the deceased cause the litigation? "It was admitted by Terry Ward at the will reading that such a

promise was made. But it can't be said that the deceased was the real cause of the litigation. "It was a change in the relationship between the deceased and the claimants, and that

is a different matter. "I don't consider it is appropriate to order any costs to come out of the estate. "In circumstances where the defendants knew that minimal gifts had

been made and that that would cause upset, I'm not sure why a will reading took place in the way that it did, causing some of the animosity. "Terry's behaviour just after the

death of his father was provocative," the judge found, but went on to say that finding was far from establishing that Terry "was the cause of the litigation". "Having

heard the reading of the will spirits were high on both sides from the start and the die was cast for a bitter dispute from the outset," the judge concluded. Giving judgment on the

inheritance fight earlier this year, Master Brightwell had described the 2018 will as "rational" given that Fred Jr's children had not seen much of their grandfather after

their dad's death in 2015. They had not visited him in hospital because they were not informed he was there, but that was because of how often he was admitted and also "because

contact between the parties had stopped in any event," he said. The five sisters had made only "very occasional short visits" to see their "disappointed" grandad,

while he was on close terms with his son Terry and Susan was his full-time carer. "I accept Susan's evidence that her father complained that Fred Jr's family did not care

about him," adding that he was particularly upset about the lack of contact at the time of one of his great-granddaughters' weddings. "He complained that he was not even sent

a piece of wedding cake," he said. "In those circumstances, and despite a promise by Fred several years earlier to divide his estate between his children's children if

anything should happen to any of them, the 2018 will was in my view entirely rational. "This does not mean that I cannot understand the claimants' disappointment at being

essentially left out." "Some may take the view that, as a general proposition, when a testator's child has predeceased him, he generally ought to leave an equal share of his

residue to that child's issue," he added. "However, the decision not to do so and to split the residue and thus the bulk of the estate between his surviving children can

hardly be said to be provision which no reasonable testator could make."