Revealed: The sorry inheritance saga that saw an 86-year-old left homeless by his own son... and how it could happen in any family
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As the first members of their families to buy property, Peter and Angela Andrews could not have been more proud when they purchased their three-bedroom detached house in the North of Scotland as newlyweds in 1963. It proved to be the perfect family home to bring up their daughter, Sally, who was born soon afterwards, and their son Graham, who arrived three years later. Sally and Graham enjoyed a happy childhood, and the family remained tightly knit when the siblings grew up and left home.
Angela died last year, aged 84, leaving Peter alone in the family home. She had appointed Sally and Graham as joint executors of her estate and left the house and remaining assets in their names. There was never any question in Sally's mind that she and her brother would let their father live in the house, and would sell it only when he passed away.
But even though Graham, 53, and his father had always shared a particularly strong bond in the family, after his mother's death he threw Peter, 86, out of his home of more than 60 years. When probate was granted five months after their mother's death, Sally received the first of several 'nasty' phone calls from Graham's solicitors demanding that their father be evicted.
What followed led to a family feud that is unlikely to heal. 'We had a great childhood,' says Sally, 57, who lives just 20 minutes from the family home. 'There was no bad parenting. Me and my brother never had a cross word to say about our parents. I don't know what changed. He never gave the impression that the money was important to him. I'm still trying to get my head around it. My father was always good with my brother and his wife. It's crazy.'.
