A £800,000 inheritance dispute with her stepson was won by the widow of an Olympic fencer who also body doubled for James Bond and coached Orlando Bloom for Pirates of the Caribbean.
After being horrified to learn that her late husband Steven Paul had practically left her out of his will, Karen Paul, 49, took her claim to the High Court in central London.
This is despite the fact that she had given up her corporate career to care for him after he was diagnosed with motor neuron disease in 2018.
Only about £1,000 worth of home goods were left to Mr. Paul’s wife of 23 years when he passed away in 2019 at the age of 64 after falling while on vacation in Spain.
The Hollywood swordsman, who acted as Pierce Brosnan’s double in a fencing sequence in Die Another Day, gave everything else to his two boys from his first marriage and the two daughters he had with Mrs. Paul, including the £700,000 East Sussex mansion where she still resides.
After a legal battle, Mrs. Paul is now eligible to receive half of the proceeds from the sale of the home in three years, with the remaining shares going to her four children and stepchildren.
Only James Paul, a kid from Mr. Paul’s previous marriage, had objected to Mrs. Paul’s claim, claiming he had been living in his car because of the Covid epidemic and had been unable to wait the three years for the house to be sold.
The court, however, rejected his claim, saying it was “surprising” that Mr. Paul’s would disinherit his wife because they had a “happy marriage” up until the time of his passing.
Mr. Justice Moor stated that it was “quite evident” that Mrs. Paul was not adequately provided for by the will because it only left her with furniture and other home goods valued roughly £1,000.
The court heard testimony that Mr. Paul came from a well-known family of accomplished fencers, with his father Raymond serving as Errol Flynn’s stunt double during spectacular swordplay scenes and his grandpa Leon Paul serving as a famed coach.
Olympic sprinter June Paul, who was also his mother, won a silver medal.
Before turning to instructing and starting his own club in Tunbridge Wells, he was an expert with the epee, a three-time British champion, and an Olympian.
In 2002, he worked on Die Another Day and helped Orlando Bloom prepare for his jaw-dropping sword fights with Johnny Depp in the “Pirates” films.
While he was married to his first wife, Marisa Fitzgerald, in Australia, Mr. Paul had two sons, James Paul, age 35, and Sebastian Paul, age 32.
However, the union did not last, and in 1998 he wed Karen, with whom he had his daughters Yasmin, 23, and an unnamed younger sister.
They had moved from their original home in Belsize Park, north London, to a four-bedroom detached property in Forest Row, close to East Grinstead, where they were when he passed away.
After learning that Mr. Paul had motor neurone disease, his wife quit her job as a corporate trainer to take care of him as he deteriorated.
After falling while on vacation in Spain in April 2019, he passed away at the age of 64.
Mrs. Paul filed a claim for “reasonable provision” against her husband’s assets after learning that she hadn’t been included in his will.
She asserted that although being in his sole name, their last residence had always been regarded as a joint possession of the couple.
However, all that was left of her was his part of the contents, which were valued at around $1,000.
Only James, who is currently residing in Australia, of the children questioned Mrs. Paul’s right to a half-share of the house, according to the judge.
James testified, according to the judge, “that he believed the property was owned as per the legal title – namely, solely by his father’s estate,” even though he had “no evidence” to back up the allegation.
In his testimony, James also disclosed to the court that he had recently been living in his car because he had been severely cash-strapped in the wake of the Covid outbreak, having lost his job as a personal trainer.
He was eager to sell his father’s old house now rather than later despite his stepmother’s objections because he is in “dire need” of money.
However, in siding with Mrs. Paul, the court declared that he was satisfied that there had been a contract stating that Mr. Paul was holding the house on their behalf in order to make it simpler to obtain a mortgage.
And considering that their marriage was an equal one, he said that she has “an irreducible title to half the estate.”
He described the will as a “surprising document” because it exclusively left Mrs. Paul with the contents of the property, despite his conviction that the marriage was still blissful.
I am certain that the will did not provide an adequate financial provision for the claimant, he continued.
I’ve had a hard time understanding why the deceased didn’t leave her anything other than his part of the property’s contents.
I accept the claimant’s testimony that he promised to give her half the inheritance and the other half to the children.
I can only presume that he thought the life insurance would cover her share of the mortgage and that she owned half of Freshfield Bank.
James might want his fortune now, he conceded, but he couldn’t have anticipated it because his father had passed away unexpectedly when James was still a little boy, he claimed.
They can wait three years until Mrs. Paul is in a better position to sell and move because the estimated £80,000 that each child would receive when the house is eventually sold is a “substantial sum,” according to him.
I am certain that their father’s desires will have been honored if they receive a respectable legacy in three years, and they cannot reasonably expect to receive it any sooner, he remarked.
Along with the mansion, Mr. Paul also left behind about £100,000 in cash, but all of that money was devoured by legal fees.