Refugee’s fortune to help children in his homeland

A PENNILESS war refugee who settled in Cardiff in the 1940s died worth more than £2.75m but never forgot his eastern European homeland.

And a High Court ruling means the fortune built up during Veljko Aleksic’s selfless life will go to help the children of Kosovo.

Mr Aleksic was born in Montenegro in 1923 and worked in a quarry after his arrival in Britain, soon after the World War II.

By the time he died, aged 91, in October 2014, he owned three houses – one in Cardiff, one in north London and the third in Montenegro. He also had a portfolio of bonds and shares and his total estate was valued for probate at £2,750,753, said Judge Paul Matthews.

Although he was one of seven children, only one brother survived him and he died a bachelor with no children of his own.

Devoutly religious, Mr Aleksic, although a British citizen and having lived in the UK for almost 70 years, never obtained a good command of English. And the hand-written will he signed in 2012 was littered with spelling mistakes and grammatical errors, said the judge.

Parts of the will were obliterated or smudged and experts have been labouring ever since his death to interpret what he wrote. A forensic document examiner reconstructed missing parts of the will.

And evidence was gathered from charities, the Serbian Orthodox church authorities and Mr Aleksic’s friends to try to find out what he meant.

The Attorney-General, Jeremy Wright QC, even became involved after Mr Aleksic left a £10,000 bequest to a non-existent cancer charity.

There were doubts over whether he had the mental capacity to make a valid will and whether his references to “money” included his bonds and shares. But Mr Aleksic’s close friend Mrs Stanka Breben, also from Cardiff, was determined that his wishes should be honoured.

Opening the way for that to happen, Judge Matthews ruled: “Bad English can still make a good will.”

The judge decided that the majority of Mr Aleksic’s fortune, including the three houses, should go to the Serbian Orthodox Church, in London. And he ruled that the money must be spent on “people in need, especially children, in Kosovo”.

Mr Aleksic suffered from bladder cancer in his final years and £10,000 of his estate will be distributed amongst cancer research charities. Another £8,000 will be inherited by barrister, Alex Dubljevic, a friend for many years despite being of a younger generation.

The UK homes owned by Mr Aleksic were in Wordsworth Avenue, Cardiff, and Fordwich Road, Cricklewell, where houses sell for over £500,000.

None of his six brothers and sisters ever left the Balkans to join him in Britain, the court heard. But relatives still use his seaside home in Djenovice, Montenegro, during the summer months and the will stated that it must not be sold before 2040.

Some legal steps still need to be taken before Mr Aleksic’s will can formally be declared valid and his bequests distributed but Judge Matthews expressed the hope any remaining issues will be resolved by agreement.