‘Willowbrook Hospice’ was defrauded of approximately £20,000 from Mrs.Patricia Eden’s estate; her daughter, Deborah Nilsson allegedly spent the money on a new kitchen, a new bathroom and a holiday.
The fraud was discovered when Deborah Nilsson’s daughter reported her.
During the trial at ‘Liverpool Crown Court’, Deborah Nilsson explained that her mother had changed her mind on her deathbed, and wanted her to inherit all of the estate. However, it came to light that Mrs.Eden had made a clear Will in the presence of a solicitor which had been duly signed by two witnesses.
In her Will Mrs.Eden bequeathed modest amounts to her family members, and left the remainder of her estate to be split between her granddaughter, great grandchildren and the hospice.
Following the death of her mother in 2013, Deborah Nilsson and her then partner were ‘Executors’ of the estate, and solicitors helped the couple apply for ‘Probate’.
Sarah Holt, ‘Prosecuting Lawyer’, said: “Willowbrook Hospice never saw one penny from the estate”. Furthermore, “They knew nothing of Mrs Eden’s Will until July 2017, when they received an email from the defendent’s estranged daughter, informing them the hospice was a beneficiary”.
It was later found that the money owed to the hospice had been spent by the defendant Deborah Nilsson, She admitted not notifying the hospice that it was a beneficiary of the Will, saying she “Did not tell them because she did not want to tell them”.
Sarah Holt added, “She had no intentions of telling them that they had been left money in her Mother’s Will because she didn’t want them to have it and had no intentions of giving it to them.”
The defendant will be sentenced in the future, it is possible that she could face a prison sentence.
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