Robert Grierson, 56, has been landed with a $253,000 [£200,000] bill after being accused of forging his late mother’s signature in a battle with his younger brother over a one and half million dollar inheritance

Their mother Elise Grierson previously had willed her estate in equal equal halves to her sons Robert and Duncan, before dramatically changing her will 16 days after their father’s death, she died weeks later

On their mother’s demise, Robert Grierson claimed Elise had already signed a declaration of trust in 2013, handing him a half share of her $1.27 million, [£1 million], home in Sutton Coldfield, West Midland

Judge Joanne Wicks, ruled that both the gift of half the house and the will were invalid, observing that there was “compelling evidence” that Elise had not signed the trust document herself

The will was not properly witnessed either and was made at a time when Robert could not prove Elise was of sound mind, Judge said

UK tax and estate attorney Robert Grierson, [photo], has been told to pay $253,000 after being accused of forging his late mother’s signature in a legal battle with his younger brother Duncan Grierson over a family estate worth over $1.52million

A UK attorney accused of fraudulently depriving his younger sibling of his share of their parents estate has been ordered by a London High Court to pay compensation to the claimant.
The lawsuit accused the older brother of forging his mother’s signature to cut his younger brother out of his half of an inheritance worth over the $1.52 million [£1.2 million].
Robert Grierson, 56, was sued by his brother Duncan Grierson, 55, after the latter found himself left with less that 1 percent, while Robert inherited 99.35 percent of their parents estate.
Robert who specializes in tax and will disputes, the suit alleged, faked a document handing him half the value of his mother’s home before producing an invalid will allocating to his younger brother Duncan, who is also an attorney, the sum of $12,651, [£10,000].
The London High Court heard their mother Elise Grierson previously had willed her estate in equal equal halves to her sons Robert and Duncan, before dramatically changing her will 16 days after their father’s death. She died weeks later from acute depression in hospital at the age of 84.
On their mother’s demise, Robert Grierson claimed Elise had already signed a declaration of trust in 2013, handing him a half share of her $1.27 million [£1 million], home in Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands.

Duncan Grierson, [photo], also an attorney headed to court to challenge a document ‘manufactured’ by his tax attorney older brother. Duncan Grierson who specializes in estate matters left his sibling with only $12,513, less than one percent of their mother’s $1.52million fortune

Duncan headed to court challenging the claims by his brother to the greater part of their parents estate. The High Court presided by Judge Joanne Wicks, ruled that both the gift of half the house and the will were invalid, observing that there was “compelling evidence” that Elise had not signed the trust document herself, while the will was not properly witnessed and was made at a time when Robert could not prove she was of sound mind.
The judge made no rulings regarding the source of the forged documentation. There was no findings pointing to Robert being responsible for forgery because he failed to appear in court to defend himself.
During the trial, Judge Wicks heard that Elise and her husband, also named Robert, had enjoyed a 60-year marriage, with their son Robert living with them from 1999 and later operating his legal practice from their home on an exclusive private estate.
Duncan’s attorney,told the court that the parents treated their sons equally and had “worked extremely hard” to support them, with both going on to study law at the University of Cambridge.
After her husband’s death in January 2022, Grierson suffered an “acute grief reaction”, the prosecution told the court. She also suffered depression and a decline in her physical health, and died in hospital in March aged 84.

The lawsuit was over matriarch Elise Grierson’s home in Sutton Coldfield, near Birmingham. Robert’s defense was struck out following his failure to disclose evidence supporting his sole inheritance, leaving the judge to decide the case on the plaintiff’s evidence alone

Duncan went to court to challenge the 2013 document on the basis of forgery and the will on the basis that his mother was mentally unsound, did not understand and properly approve of it, and that it was not witnessed properly.
He said a previous will from 2020, dividing her estate equally, was her last true will and that there was no reason for her to have changed her mind in the two intervening years.
The plaintiff’s attorney said an expert had assessed the declaration of trust and said the signature and initials of Elise on it were probably “simulations”.
There was also evidence that an “indented tracing guideline” had been followed to produce it, making it “highly probable” that it was not signed by her.
Robert’s defense to the action was struck out following his failure to disclose evidence earlier this year, with the judge then left to decide the case on Duncan’s evidence alone.
Giving judgment, Judge Wicks said the expert evidence provided “compelling evidence that Elise did not herself sign” the document handing Robert half of the house.
“Duncan’s case is that Robert is the only person who could, and would, have placed such simulated signatures on that document, and that he did so in order to acquire by fraud an asset worth about $632,567,” Duncan’s attorney’s told the court.