A High Court Judge has resolved a legal dispute over the estate of deceased renowned Senior Counsel Frank Solomon.
Delivering a judgment, a little over a week ago, Justice Betsy-Ann Lambert-Peterson upheld a lawsuit brought by Solomon’s children Daniel and Ingrid against their stepmother Marguerita.
Solomon married Marguerita in January 2002.
In December 2012, Solomon made himself the trustee of $30 million in units he held in First Citizens Bank’s (FCB) Abercrombie Fund, with his two children and Marguerita being equal beneficiaries.
Marguerita was later made a joint holder of the account.
Less than three years later, Solomon made a will in which he outlined how his estate should be divided after his death.
Under the terms of the will, Marguerita was allowed to continue to reside at the family’s Valsayn home for the remainder of her life, with the property being divided equally between his children after she died.
Solomon’s other real estate holdings and his money held at financial institutions excluding the fund were to be divided between his children.
After Solomon died in November 2018, Marguerita, who was named as executrix of his will, transferred the money in the FCB account to her personal account.
Solomon’s children filed a lawsuit challenging the move. They also contended that their stepmother should be removed as executrix and sought a court order that she disclose information on the other assets Solomon held at the time of his death including United States (US) bank accounts.
In resolving the case, Justice Lambert-Peterson had to determine whether Marguerita exercised undue influence over Solomon in order to be made a joint holder of the account.
She found that there was no evidence of such presented before her.
She also rejected claims that Solomon’s medical condition before his death debilitated him physically, emotionally and mentally and rendered him vulnerable to influence.
Considering the evidence presented by the feuding relatives, Solomon’s close friends and doctors who treated him, Justice Lambert-Peterson said, “There is an absence of evidence to support the Claimant’s assertion that Frank Solomon was not mentally coherent or in a fit state to make important or financial decisions.”
“The evidence in this case demonstrates that in 2018, Frank Solomon retained a force of character and remained in control of his mental faculties,” she added.
She also found that Solomon did not require independent legal advice to make the account a joint one.
Stating that Solomon was highly respected in his profession, Justice Lambert-Peterson said, “This Court has no doubt that he would have been aware of the implications of his decision to change the Abercrombie account to a joint account, notwithstanding the trust arrangements.”
However, she ruled that the change in the account did not revoke the trust established by Solomon to benefit his children and widow.
She ruled that Marguerita held two-thirds of the transferred money on trust for her stepchildren and ordered that she pay them their shares.
As part of her decision, Justice Lambert-Peterson removed Marguerita as executrix based on her conduct.
“The Court makes the finding that the Defendant has not acted in the best interests of all the beneficiaries of Solomon’s estate. She has not avoided conflicts of interest between her personal interest and that of the estate, and has not diligently sought probate of Solomon’s will,” she said.
Justice Lambert-Peterson ordered that the Administrator General of T&T be appointed to serve as legal personal representative of Solomon’s estate to make an application to probate his will.
She also ordered Marguerita to not destroy financial records in her possession and to hand them over to the Administrator General.
Solomon’s children were represented by Peter Knox, KC, Jonathan Walker, and Nalini Balwant. His widow was represented by Deborah Peake, SC, Ravi Heffes-Doon, and Marcelle Ferdinand.
