Father cuts four daughters out of £1m will over delusions; court overturns it

A father who believed his four daughters were conspiring to have him hospitalised and take control of his property left them just 25% of his estate in a will made while suffering from delusions. Michael Gwilliam, from Gloucestershire, England, believed his daughters were plotting against him for financial gain and arranged his inheritance accordingly. When he died in February 2022, aged 79, his daughters discovered that most of his estate had been left to other relatives and people close to him. They challenged the document in court, arguing that their father's mental condition had affected his ability to make decisions about his inheritance. In January 2026, the High Court ruled that his delusions had influenced the will and declared it invalid, allowing his four daughters to inherit under intestacy rules.How a father's relationship with his daughters deterioratedMichael Gwilliam had previously enjoyed a good relationship with his four daughters and his former wife, Christine. He lived at a farmhouse in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, and had consciously decided against making a will because he wanted his estate to pass to his daughters under the rules of intestacy.However, h...