Uncle jailed for failing to give niece and nephew their inheritance

A row over a will has resulted in an uncle being jailed for failing to hand over inheritance money to his niece and nephew.

Mark Totton, 51, a wedding planner, was the executor of his mother Hazel Totton's estate after she died in 2019.

She left half of her £475,000 inheritance money to Mr Totton, and the other half was to be split between her grandchildren Hollie Totton and Daniel Washer, who are siblings.

However, Miss Totton, 25, a business project manager, and Mr Washer, 19, a university student, have not received their share from Mr Totton. He has also refused to explain what he has done with the money.

Miss Totton and Mr Washer, who are from Essex, took the case to the High Court to try to force their uncle to hand over their inheritance.

Mr Totton was jailed for six weeks on Friday for contempt of court after he failed to comply with a judge's order to set out the assets of the estate within a certain time frame and to give a full account of his dealings with it.

He has also been ordered to pay his niece and nephews legal bills, which amount to £18,000.

Mr Justice Leech said Mr Totton had "deliberately failed to comply with his duties as executor", and had failed for months to engage with the court process by not turning up at hearings.

The judge said his failure to provide information about the estate and what happened to it when he was told to amounted to "serious, contumacious flouting of orders of the court."

Lawyers for Miss Totton and Mr Washer said they are considering their next steps in the battle to obtain their inheritance.

Speaking at a hearing last month, when he was brought to court after being arrested, Mr Totton said: "I put my head in the sand.

"I was relieved when the police turned up to get the matter resolved. I apologise to the court, there are no excuses."

Mr Totton's lawyers said he had never been in trouble with the police before and was a supportive family man who had suffered depression as a result of the row over his mother's will.

The judge said he may have considered suspending Mr Totton's sentence if he thought it might encourage him to give his niece and nephew their inheritance.

However, he said there was no indication from Mr Totton's lawyers that he would comply with his obligations if the sentence was suspended. 

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