Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Niece sues after aunt left £150K jewels to cruise pal
A WOMAN is locked in a legal row over £150,000 of family jewels after a rich aunt left her entire fortune to a friend she met on a cruise.
Julia Titcombe, 46, claims Patricia Thompson had pledged to give her the collection of gems in a Skype call before she died.
But she had changed her will and left her entire £6million estate to former British Airways steward Neil Ison, 54.
Mrs Titcombe claims her aunt told her she wanted her to have the jewellery but she “would be leaving it to Mr Ison to give it to her on birthdays and at
Christmas”. Her lawyers argue he was present on the call and did not object to what was said
But Mr Ison insisted that Patricia passed the gems to him on the clear understanding he alone will decide what happens to them.
In court documents his lawyers said: “She expressed the wish that he give pieces of her jewellery to her friends and family after her death as he thought it appropriate or, if he needed to, sell it for his own benefit.
“The deceased did not intend her jewellery to pass to Mrs Titcombe as alleged.” Mr Ison told judge Deputy Master Rhys at the High Court: “It was at my discretion.” He also said he had already handed over gems, including a solid gold Rolex watch to Mrs Titcombe for her 40th birthday.
But she was close to tears as she explained she only wanted the gems “to keep my aunt’s memory alive”.
Mrs Titcombe, of Camberley, Surrey, told the court: “It’s irrelevant how much the jewellery is worth, it’s of sentimental value to me.”
Mr Ison met Patricia on a cruise in 2004 and the pair later travelled the world together.
She was diagnosed with cancer and he moved into her Monte Carlo home to look after her in the final year of her life. Patricia died in February 2015.
The judge reserved judgment on the case to a later date.