A HIGH Court judge has ordered that some €157,000 at the centre of an 10-year-old legal dispute should be paid to the estate of a mentally impaired woman.
The accounts containing the money had been transferred to the woman’s husband’s nephew just days after her husband’s death but a challenge was later brought by the woman’s estate alleging undue influence was exercised by the nephew over the woman.
Last week Mr Justice Paul Gilligan set aside the transaction in which two banks transferred accounts with €157,000 in them after finding the nephew took advantage of the woman’s impairment and her vulnerability so soon after her husband’s death.
Yesterday, he ordered the name of Dermot Joyce should be removed from three joint accounts held by the late Monica Joyce in Bank of Ireland and Allied Irish Bank and the sums be paid out to the personal representative of the estate of Mrs Joyce.
The case centred on the transfer in 1998 of the accounts of Jack and Monica Joyce, who died childless, by Bank of Ireland and AIB, to Mr Joyce’s nephew Dermot Joyce, a retired stock controller of Sandymount, Dublin.
Jack Joyce, of Ballinastanford, Claremorris, Mayo, who operated a petrol station in Hollymount, died on January 14th, 1998, a few years after his wife Monica started showing signs of mental impairment. Shortly after his death, she began attending a respite home for people suffering from Alzheimer’s disease and has since died.
Some weeks before Jack’s death, Dermot claimed his uncle told him he wanted Dermot to have IR£112,000 (now €157,000 with interest) held in the BoI and AIB accounts in Claremorris.
In their wills, the couple had left all their assets to each other. The wills provided, where Jack survived, he left the family home to Monica’s nephew and petrol station to Dermot, with the remaining assets divided equally between nieces and nephews on both sides of the family.
In Monica’s will, she left everything to the same nieces and nephews, except Dermot.
Less than a week after Jack’s death, Dermot brought the then 70-year-old Monica to both banks, who said they were aware Jack had previously asked that the money be given to Dermot.
New accounts were set up in the names of Monica and Dermot, at Dermot’s request.
Monica’s niece and administrator of her estate, Evelyn Prendergast, then brought High Court proceedings against Dermot and the banks alleging undue influence on her aunt. The banks were allowed withdraw from the case on undertakings to abide by the findings of the court.
In his judgment, Mr Justice Gilligan found Dermot “took advantage” of Monica’s vulnerability when the transfer was carried out. He also criticised the role of the BoI manager for failing to comply with the principles for independent financial advisers.