Carer wins survivor’s fortune

THE CARER of an elderly Holocaust survivor has triumphed in a High Court battle fought over her £1.3m fortune.

Tanya Vasileva looked after her friend Gertrude Stanley — who had made her home in London after fleeing the Nazis — for four years as the octogenarian’s health gradually deteriorated.

Mrs Stanley died in December 2009, aged 89, believing she had no living relatives; her sister died in a concentration camp. She promised her Hampstead flat to Miss Vasileva in return for the years of care she had given her.

But she made no will and a legal wrangle ensued after professional genealogist Peter Birchwood traced two distant cousins of Mrs Stanley.

Following Mrs Stanley’s death, Miss Vasileva — who had cared part-time for the widow since 2005 — moved into her flat.

Acting on behalf of Mrs Stanley’s estate, Mr Birchwood argued Miss Vasileva was a “trespasser” who should be made to pay £50,000 for her years of rent-free occupation. But His Honour Judge Mark Raeside ruled that Mrs Stanley did promise the flat to her carer. He awarded Miss Vasileva £20,000 and dismissed the claim against her.

SPRÜTH MAGERS BERLIN An installation by New York conceptual artist Barbara Kruger on display at Modern Art Oxford, part of her first major UK show in years