In New Zealand a court has held that a son must account for squandering his nephew’s share of his father’s estate. Justice Stephen Kos of the High Court in Wellington has held that Ashley Vernon and his wife Beverly Vernon will have to pay back the money that they owe their 19-year old nephew. When Kenneth Vernon went to go live with his son in March 2006 he had an estate that was worth $330,000, and when he died in September 2011 only $1,400 was left in the estate. “Justice Stephen Kos found that Ashley Vernon knew he was due to inherit only half his father’s estate and set about forestalling that by transferring virtually all of it, while his father was still alive, to himself and his wife.”
See Inheritance lost: Son spends estate money before nephew can get his share, Business Day, August 20, 2015.
