Family enraged as Lonely Pensioner leaves entire
£500,000 fortune to man who cleaned his gutters for
free
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A lonely pensioner left half a million pounds to a builder(above) who once
agreed to clean out his gutters for free .Ronald Butcher, a 'private and
quiet man', bequeathed his entire £500,000 fortune to Daniel Sharp after
he died in March 2013.
But his relatives and family friends insist that the will, made just two
months before his death, is invalid and say that the builder is lying about
his friendship with Mr Butcher.
After the pensioner died at home in Enfield, north London aged 75, his
body was not discovered for almost two months.
Judge Leslie Anderson QC was told that Mr Butcher's 'family' consisted
his elderly cousin, Joyce Gilkerson, plus Evelyn Hutchins and Peter
Rogers, the children of a close school friend, who regarded him as their
'uncle Ron'.
The three were the equal beneficiaries of a will drawn up by Mr Butcher in
December 2011, but after his death they discovered that they had been
disinherited.
Araba Taylor, for Mrs Hutchins, told the court that the 'odd' nature of Mr
Butcher's bequest to Mr Sharp should 'excite suspicion' that he did not
fully understand what he was doing.
But Jennifer Seaman, for Mr Sharp, said:
'Mr Butcher was a lonely man who found a friend in Mr Sharp. Mr
Butcher knew what he was doing when he made the 2013 will and what its
effect would be.
'He found a male friend in Mr Sharp, somebody he could chat to. They had
a shared interest in DIY and he liked to hear about Mr Sharp's son. That is
an explanation why he wanted to make the 2013 will.'
Giving evidence, Mr Sharp described the start of his friendship with Mr
Butcher six years before his death, saying:
'When I first cleaned out his gutter he offered me a tenner or twenty quid
for it, but I said no, I wouldn't take it. It was a nothing job that took
seconds.'At the time I was shocked to be given something like that. It's
life changing. Nobody gives you nothing in life.'I didn't think he had
people to give it to, or obviously they had had an argument. Something
happened and he gave it to me. I can't say the reason why he gave it to
me.'But if I'm the only one who went round to talk to him... I didn't know
what's gone on with the others. Obviously there's been a big falling
out.'Asked why he did not attend Mr Butcher's funeral, Mr Sharp said it
would 'just cause arguments' with the pensioner's family, and refuted Miss
Taylor's claim that the two men were not in fact friends.
'I class a friend as somebody who talks to people. His friends and family
hadn't spoken to him in months. At least I was going round whenever I
was in the area.'I'm still shocked today and I can understand why his
family are upset about it. But, at the end of the day, there's a reason why
he's given it to me. They know it, but I don't.'We were not good friends,
just friends. I never said I was his best mate or whatever.Mr Rogers, 57,
claimed Mr Sharp was 'lying' about being friends with Mr Butcher,
adding:
'My uncle had lots of friends and still came to family parties.'He and Mr
Sharp had nothing in common. It just doesn't add up. He would tell us
about what was going on in his life and Mr Sharp never ever came up.'

Hmmmmm....that's a great fortune. Will the family agree to that new will? I pray for a peaceful resolution of the case. What a lucky man being paid for rendering a free service. God is indeed great.

Please check my signature too. Thanks.

If they are his family how didn't they know he was dead until after two months?
Family indeed.
Maybe they only call him 2x a year. With no live-in help at his age.
They were probably waiting for when he would give up the ghost.