A former cleaner has won a High Court battle against her stepson over a £43 million inheritance.
Richard Scott, who made his fortune running a car boot fair from his Cheshire farm — famously featured on ITV’s Car Boot Challenge — died in 2018 aged 81. His widow, Jennifer Scott, has now successfully defended her right to his estate against his eldest son, Adam Scott.
Adam, 62, claimed he had devoted four decades of his life to working on the family farm from the age of nine, believing he had been promised the entire inheritance. He argued that his father had pledged him ownership of the “vast” property on the understanding that he would pay its probate value, with his siblings receiving rental income or lump sums.
However, after Richard’s first wife died, he married Jennifer — 28 years his junior — in 2016 and rewrote his will, cutting Adam out entirely. Adam tried to prevent the marriage, attending the registry office and alleging that his father lacked the mental capacity to wed due to dementia. He even sought to have him sectioned.
In court, Adam’s lawyers claimed Richard was no longer of sound mind when signing his final will, having been diagnosed with brain disease and barely able to communicate. But Jennifer’s legal team maintained that Richard was fully aware of his decisions, particularly after his relationship with Adam deteriorated following the sectioning attempt.
They also noted that Adam had already received over £10 million in property and land. Earlier assurances about inheriting parts of the farm had appeared in a 1995 will, giving Adam a 40-year tenancy and an option to buy at probate value — but these provisions were removed in later wills made in 2003 and 2007.
Justice Jonathan Richards ruled that Richard had clearly withdrawn his earlier promises and that Adam had known of this change but chose to keep working on the farm. The judge dismissed Adam’s claim, leaving widow Jennifer, now 60, in control of the multimillion-pound estate.