Family in battle over £650,000 estate after ‘eccentic recluse’ gifted fortune to waitress two years before death
The family of an eccentric "recluse" who signed over his £650,000 home to a waitress he met at his local cafe are suing in a court fight to get it back.
History buff and military memorabilia collector Richard Joy died in May 2018, having lived his entire life in the family home in Hillside Gardens, Harrow, where he amassed a “mountain of books” and left his parents’ old room untouched.
The 82-year-old - described by his family as a "recluse" - never married or had children and spent most of his time at the local library or working on his collection of rare coins, medals and millitaria.
But less than two years before his death, he gifted his home to Mariia Romanyshyn, 38, a Ukrainian waitress he met while she worked in his local café in 2011.
Mr Joy, who visited the Upper Crust cafe (as seen below) in Harrow three times a week, formed a close bond with Mrs Romanyshyn, she says, with the pensioner eventually inviting her, her husband and their daughters to live with him in his house as his "adopted family".
It was against this background that he told her he had decided to gift her the house in 2016, she claims, having "thrust" the deeds of the property into her hands and said: "The house is yours. I want you to keep the house."
But Mrs Romanyshyn is now being sued by Mr Joy's cousin and executor of his estate Martin Larney, who is fighting to get the house back for the family.
He claims the gift of the property in 2016 was invalid as Mr Joy was too mentally frail to fully understand what he was doing at the time.
Mrs Romanyshyn is fighting the court claim, insisting that her friend knew what he was doing.
The pensioner had been sharp enough to follow the complex storylines of Benedict Cumberbatch's 'Sherlock' series, she says, and also to play chess with her daughter, to whom he was a "grandfather figure."
Sitting at Central London County Court, Judge Simon Monty KC heard that Mr Joy had never had a family of his own and lived his entire life in his parents' Hillside Gardens home.
Under a will made in 2011, most of his fortune, including the house, was to be split between his second cousin Mr Larney and his mother Doreen Larney, and a friend who is not involved in the case.
But after his death, it emerged that in 2016 he had signed a document gifting the property to Mrs Romanyshyn, having met her at the cafe where she worked part-time in 2011.
Challenging the gift in court last week, Mr Larney's barrister Andrew Nicklin claimed that Mr Joy did not have capacity to make such a big decision at that stage of life.
The barrister said Mr Joy was "vulnerable with apparent cognitive impairment" and "dependant" on Mrs Romanyshyn, who had moved into his home with her family after they became friends at the café.
Giving evidence, Mrs Romanyshyn, now a trainee beautician, explained how she got to know Mr Joy in 2011 while serving him in the café, where she knew him as a "respectable and reputable customer."
After a spell in hospital, she had offered to help him with shopping or casual chores, but began helping him out on a more regular basis as the years went by.
Mr Joy had “repeatedly encouraged” her and her family to set up house with him, she said, telling her: “my wish is for this to be your family home”.
She told the court she ended up moving in with her family despite her misgivings about such a big step, which forced her to abandon previous plans to move out of London and buy a home.
“A friendship developed over some time which evolved into a familial relationship and after some years - at the deceased’s request and insistence - in April 2017 she moved into the property together with (her husband) Vasyl and daughter," said her barrister Lynne Counsell.
“They and their children became the adopted family of the deceased and they also assisted him and cared for him, but neither of them were ever paid carers and at no time demanded or received any money for their care and assistance.”
Mrs Romanyshyn treated the pensioner “as her uncle,” while her daughter viewed him “as a grandfather figure” - and he was still mentally sharp enough to make major decisions, she continued.
“There is nothing in the GP records that show he was suffering from dementia, or undergoing any investigation of dementia or being prescribed any drugs for that condition,” said Ms Counsell, while he was also well able to “successfully navigate trips away from home and return safely”.
“The deceased played chess with Mrs Romanyshyn’s oldest daughter before and after the deed of gift...and he also watched and was able to follow episodes of ‘Sherlock’ on television.”
Mrs Romanyshyn told the judge that in spring 2016, Mr Joy had "thrust" the deeds of the property into her hands and said: "The house is yours. I want you to keep the house."
She said Mr Joy simply told her, “I have a present for you,” before offering her the deeds, to which she had replied: “don’t worry, I will look after it very well for you”.
“He received and felt the care, love and affection from me and my family," she said. "An extremely high degree of trust was there between us."
She said that as early in their friendship as November 2011, Mr Joy had wanted to give her a diamond ring in his will, telling the judge: “He said to me ‘Mariia can I have your name and address?' - which was surprising, but he said that he wanted to put something for me in his will but didn’t mention what it was."
But Mr Larney’s barrister suggested that in 2016 Mr Joy was in no position to sign off complex legal documents, arguing: “The deceased was vulnerable with apparent cognitive impairment and, on the face of the medical evidence produced, lacking capacity."
Although accepting that the relationship between Mr Joy and Mrs Romanyshyn’s family may have involved “care and affection,” he said she held “a position of ascendancy”, which demanded the utmost care be taken to ensure he knew what he was doing when deciding legal issues.
By 2016, Mrs Romanyshyn’s family were occupying “the majority of the home,” while Mr Joy was living in one room of the bungalow, alleged Mr Nicklin, and by June that year she had become the pensioner’s attorney, "in control of his bank account and finances."
“The deceased was dependant on Mrs Romanyshyn in respect of daily life, shopping, cooking, medicine and medical appointments," he said.
Giving evidence, Mr Joy's 87-year-old cousin Doreen Larney - who stands to inherit a share of the house if the gift is overturned - described her first cousin as a “a bit of a recluse” who had a tendency to burn through his money.
She said his bank manager father had tried to leave him money in trust because he “got through it so fast”.
“He just wasn’t good with money, it had no value for him,” she told Judge Monty, adding: “he would spend £6,000 on a gold coin and then he wouldn’t have any money left.”
She said she and her husband had done their utmost to keep in touch with him, but that contact ceased after 2012 when they found they could no longer get through on the phone.
At one point they had visited him regularly, but found it hard making the trips due to advancing age and ill health, and in 2012 they stopped receiving replies to their regular letters.
“After 2012, we didn’t really have any contact with him,” she told the court.
Mr Larney is fighting to overturn the 2016 gift of the house (shown below), so that it can be included in his estate and divided up under the terms of his 2011 will, which largely split his estate three ways between the Larneys and an old friend of Mr Joy's, who is not involved in the case.
The court heard that under the will his collection of millitaria was donated to the Imperial War Museum, whilst part of his coin collection was sold to pay for his funeral expenses.
Denying he lacked capacity, Ms Counsell told the court “Mr Joy was going to the pub, bookies, fish and chip shops and also used the bus by himself in 2018.
"The deceased remained independent.
“In the type of a loving familial relationship, it is submitted that the law must be very slow to interpret that relationship into one that harbours the ability to impose an actionable influence.
"Even seven years after the deceased passed away, Mrs Romanyshyn still organises a remembrance service at the local church for the deceased every Christmas. She also visits the deceased’s grave, sometimes with her mother, and puts flowers on the grave.
"Mr Larney does none of these things," she concluded.
The judge is expected to deliver his ruling on the case at a later date.