Family fights over $30m estate

as executors and trustees.

However, one of Chaytor’s nieces, Georgina Miranda Mary Hall, distrusted Radich-chaytor so much that she went to the High Court to have her removed as an executor and trustee and replaced by a professional, independent executor and trustee.

Although Radich-chaytor was equally suspicious of Hall, she agreed a professional, independent executor and trustee should be appointed. However, the pair could not agree on who would take up the position.

The High Court at Wellington heard the relationship between Radich-chaytor and Chaytor’s relatives had been strained.

Chaytor had suffered a stroke before he married Radichchaytor in April 2018 at a registry office in Christchurch.

Hall described the union as ‘‘clandestine’’ as none of Chaytor’s friends or relatives attended the wedding and were not told of the marriage.

She also alleged that Radichchaytor, who had been managing the estate property since her husband’s death, had been earning an income from the estate to which she was not entitled.

The court heard Hall was concerned about the state of disrepair of cottages on the farm, called Marshlands, which she claimed had been rented out but did not comply with tenancy law.

Radich-chaytor said her husband had ‘‘issues’’ with his family while he was alive.

There were allegations that Chaytor was incompetent at managing his affairs and that Radichchaytor unduly influenced him.

Medical evidence which suggested undue influence relating to his will was presented in court. However, the judge said it was not up to her to determine whether or not the allegations were true.

Hall wanted to appoint Perpetual Trust Limited as the sole executor and trustee of Chaytor’s will. But Radich-chaytor took issue with that suggestion because the manager of Perpetual Trust and a lawyer who worked at the firm representing Hall had been co-trustees of another estate.

She claimed that was unfair and suggested Trustees Executors Limited be appointed as the executor and trustee.

In a just-released judgment, Justice Christine Grice said all communications between Perpetual Trust and the law firm representing Hall had been ‘‘above board’’ and did not amount to a conflict of interest.

However, she decided to appoint Trustees Executors Limited as the sole executor and trustee of Chaytor’s estate because that was Radichchaytor’s preference, she was the main beneficiary of the estate and had previously been an executor and trustee of the will.