Reverend who sued siblings for bigger share of their mother's £900k loses ... trends now
A church minister who accused her siblings of ganging up on her over their mother's £900,000 fortune could see her entire inheritance wiped out after losing a battle for a bigger share.
Reverend Anne Lettice, 70, sued her five brothers and sisters after Margaret Lettice died aged 99 in 2019, splitting her fortune between all her children and grandchildren.
Rev Lettice, who had lived with her mum at her £875,000 north London home, was left around £105,000, but insisted she deserved more cash so she could buy herself a property.
She said the will did not make 'reasonable provision' for her and she should get more than anyone else, having devoted almost two decades to caring for her elderly mother after her father Frederick died in 2001.
Reverend Anne Lettice, 70, pictured outside the High court in London as she contested her late mother Margaret's will
But a judge has now thrown out Rev Lettice's claim, telling the reverend her mum 'had no greater obligations or responsibilities towards (her) than towards any of her other children and their families'.
After losing the case, Rev Lettice may have to foot the entire legal bill for it, which sources said could eat up her whole inheritance and leave her with nothing.
London's High Court heard Rev Lettice, a mother-of-one, is a former mental health nurse, who was ordained as a reverend in the United States and for more than two decades has dedicated her life to God.
She had been living in the US when her father Frederick fell ill in 2001 and moved back to London, where she stayed after he died, working as a bus driver and living with her mum in her home in Haringey.
Rev Lettice told the court she gave up her job and provided 'round-the-clock care' for her mother, helping her with her meals, dressing and medication, and being there for whatever she needed.
Margaret Lettice's former home in north London (pictured) has been at the centre of a High Court row between her daughter Rev Lettice and her five children
However, when Margaret died of cancer in 2019, Rev Lettice was left facing being thrown out of the house she had called home for 17 years, she said.
Her mum's will, signed in 2014, ordered the sale of the four-bedroom house, with the proceeds split between all the families of her six children.
Rev Lettice was to get approximately £105,000, her brother Brian, 63, and retired nurse sister Linda Lettice, 61, each getting £149,000, sister Sylvia Ricks, 66, £105,000 and Australia-based brothers Frederick, 72, and 69-year-old Peter £61,000 each.
Margaret's grandchildren would also benefit by getting shares, so that the will effectively split the proceeds of the house and a small cash sum equally six ways between her kids' families.
But the will sparked a bitter fight, with Rev Lettice launching a claim to a bigger payment from the estate than any of her siblings.
Although she didn't state how
