Judges in England have ruled that two brothers can claim a larger slice of their late father’s £461,000 estate because his secret children did not know their deceased mother. The court ordered £170,000 be diverted to Gregory and Lee, effectively shielding their late mother Julie’s accumulated wealth from being diluted by Michael Gymer’s undisclosed offspring.
The dispute erupted after Michael’s three legitimate children—Gregory, Lee, and Shelley—learned of his decades-long affair with Beverley Madden just months before his death in 2020 at age 83. Michael had fathered two children, Charlotte and Joseph, who were 32 and 29 at the time. Neither Michael nor Julie left a will, so intestacy rules initially dictated an equal split of roughly £92,350 among all five biological children.
Gregory and Lee pushed back under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975. They argued that a substantial portion of the estate came from Julie, who worked for years to build her share and never knew about the second family. The judge sided with them, rejecting claims by Charlotte and Joseph that Julie had tacitly accepted the arrangement. The court found no evidence Julie knew about the affair, labeling all five children as "innocent of their father's deception."
The final tally reflects a stark divide. Gregory and Lee are set to receive approximately £143,000 each, boosted by an additional £85,000 per person from the diverted funds. Charlotte and Joseph, along with Shelley, will receive roughly £58,000 each. Shelley did not receive the extra boost because the judge determined her financial needs did not match those of her brothers.
Precise figures remain subject to a subsequent court order, but the ruling sets a precedent for estates involving secret relationships where one parent’s assets are entangled with the other’s secrets.