By Norrie Ross
October 30, 2008
THE wealthy spinster at the centre of a $15 million will dispute told a relative neighbours were trying to steal her land, a judge heard yesterday.
Colin Nicholson said that when he visited frail and elderly Betty Dyke in hospital, she became distressed and anxious, and repeated the allegation over and over.
"Aunty (Ms Dyke) said, 'They are trying to steal my land. They are trying to steal my land'," Mr Nicholson told Justice Peter Vickery.
"I said, 'Who is it?' And she said, 'It's the neighbours'."
He said he spoke to a nurse who confirmed that neighbours of Ms Dyke, his second cousin, had visited her and tried to get her to sign papers.
The dispute is over two wills, made in 1999 and 2001, that left the bulk of Ms Dyke's estate to Tim and Denise Knaggs, Robert and Sandra Allen, and Gary and Diane Smith. In a 1985 will Ms Dyke left most of her money to animal charities.
Each of the couples received $5 million after being granted probate on the 2001 will.
Russell Berglund, QC, for the three couples, asked Mr Nicholson why he did nothing if he believed the land was being stolen. He replied: "I had a naive approach. I couldn't understand how people could steal her land."
Mr Nicholson, of Mount Waverley, told the Supreme Court that a few years before her death, Ms Dyke sold 8ha of her farm, outside Mornington, for sub-division, and gave the couples the $1.2 million proceeds. She had told him she had to do it to "pay them off" for their help after she became increasingly frail.
Mr Nicholson said that by 1999 she was suffering dementia and did not understand she had given her power of attorney to Mrs Knaggs.
SOURCE: The Herald Sun
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