Will row ahoy!
Widow fights stepchildren over £4.3m fortune of tycoon who died on cruise
THE widow of a tycoon who died on an Atlantic liner is fighting her stepchildren over his £4.3million fortune.
Graham Dines, 69, fell into a coma and died while cruising from Florida to Southampton with wife Helen, 68.
His death sparked a war between her and his children Elliott, 42, and Louise, 46, with whom she had a ‘strained’ relationship.
Mr Dines left half of an estimated £3million fortune to Helen and the rest to his children. But Elliott and Louise are contesting ownership of rental properties in Bournemouth worth another £1.3million. The flats were either jointly owned by Mr and Mrs Dines or were in her name.
But the children claim they did not really belong to her, and instead belong to their father’s investment company which they inherited.
Mrs Dines insists her late husband wanted her to have the flats and says she will demand a share of the £1.5million he left to his children if she loses the High Court case.
Judge Andrew Lenon KC was told that Mr Dines met US-born Helen in Florida in 1992 and they began an affair. At that time he was married to first wife Frances who he divorced in 2000 to marry his lover.
The pair enjoyed an international lifestyle, dividing their time between Florida, Spain and England’s south coast, with homes in each place. In poor health, Mr Dines had a heart attack in 2000 and heart surgery in 2008. He was also had a bleed on the brain in 2015. Then, on the cruise in 2016, he had a stroke or haemorrhage, fell into a coma and died.
Mr Dines, who initially made his money in the motor trade, left most of his personal possessions to Helen, as well as his share of their matrimonial home in Poole, £100,000 in cash, his half share in a property in Florida and his pensions.
Although Elliott got his father’s Rolex watch, Jaguar XK8 and Bayliner 21ft sports boat, the rest – including his shares in his investment company and his half shares in his and Helen’s properties in Spain and Wiltshire – was split equally between the children. But they are now at war over the 12 properties in Bournemouth, eight in Mr Dines and his widow’s joint names and four in her sole name.
The siblings claim that the flats were all bought with company money and intended to be held on trust for that company, Provincial Equity Finance Ltd. Simon McLoughlin, for the children, told the judge that PEF was the true beneficial owner of the properties.
He added: ‘Between 2002 and 2015, Provincial Equity Finance says that it funded the acquisition of a number of properties, which were purchased in the name(s) of either Helen, Graham, Graham and Helen jointly, or Elliott.
‘The properties were almost exclusively flats in Bournemouth, which were renovated and then let and/or sold and the proceeds of such sales were frequently reinvested in the acquisition of further properties.
‘ The contemporaneous documents record that the properties were assets belonging to PEF and that there was no intention that they – or any interest in them – be gifted to Helen Dines.’
The company is also asking for the return of £130,000, which Mrs Dines transferred to herself from her husband’s bank account before his death. Edward Hewitt, acting for Mrs Dines, said the transfer was perfectly legitimate, being her share of proceeds of the sale of their former home. He said claims that the company provided the money for the Bournemouth properties did not ‘stand up to scrutiny’.
The London hearing continues and the judge is expected to give a ruling at a later date.
‘Given his father’s Rolex watch’