Millionairess Leaves Daughters 90p Each

12:07pm UK, Monday April 26, 2010

Sarah Gordon, Sky News Online

A millionaire socialite has left her daughters less than a pound each because she believed they conspired in her mother's death.

Former Lady Mayoress Valmai Roche.



Australian Valmai Roche, who died last year aged 81, bequeathed her children and ex-husband $1.5 AUD "blood money" - worth 90p - from her estate, which is reported to be worth around £2.1m.

But two of her daughters have claimed their mother was "delusional" and are challenging her will in the South Australian Supreme Court.

The former mayoress of Adelaide left "30 pieces of silver of the lowest denomination of currency" to her family - which translates as 30 five cent coins each - claiming it was "blood money due to Judas".

The rest of her fortune was left to the Catholic men's charity Southern Cross, according to Australian newspaper reports.

Her mother Dorothy Maude Haber was cared for in a nursing home before her death, but documents do not say how or when she died.

Ms Roche's daughters - Deborah Hamilton, Fiona Roche and Shauna Roche - can also claim equal shares in their mother's jewellery.

However they must correctly answer questions about her personal diaries which were kept from January 1974 until October 1981, the date her will was written.

But Ms Hamilton has accused her mother of "fixed, false and incorrigible views" over the death of Ms Haber and alleges her "delusions" meant she was incapable of "making a reasonable and proper disposition of her estate".

Along with her sisters she has taken the case to court claiming they should be "entitled to inherit" their mother's fortune.

Ms Roche went as far as to "specifically exclude" her children and ex-husband "from any further benefits" claiming they "have been adequately provided for" during the later years of her life.

Mr Roche, who was Adelaide City Council Lord Mayor from 1975 until 1977, was also excluded from further benefit due to the "irretrievable breakdown" of their marriage in 1983.

Only one change was made to her will in 1987 to bequeath a French Empire style desk to her daughter Fiona, who now heads the family's Roche Group which is regularly listed among the top 200 rich companies in Australia.

Court documents reveal Ms Roche enquired about changing her will in 2007, but no new will could be found.

Lawyers for the family have refused to comment on the case, which returns to court next month.

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Along with her sisters she has taken the case to court claiming they should be "entitled to inherit" their mother's fortune.
Unquote.

Using the loving daughter's reasoning there is no real point in anyone making a will. Such a suggestion is likely to send solicitors world wide ecstatic with joy.

The vultures it seems are spitting feathers.......

Quite right, Malena; they are "entitled" to bugger all. It was the old lady's money and it was up to her what she did with it.

How can they do this? If their mother didn't want to give them the money, this shows how much respect they had for her and that she was damned right to shut them out of her will.