Sisters beat brothers in battle for £870k inheritance

A High Court judge has ruled in favour of three sisters who challenged their late father’s decision to leave most of his estate to his sons.

The children of Ranjit Singh were locked in a feud over his £870,000 estate when he died in March 2009, the Daily Mail reports.

In his will, Singh left £830,000 to his three sons Jarnail, Ajaib and Jugdeep Balvinder, giving just £20,000 to two of his daughters and nothing to the third.

However, one of his daughters, solicitor Balvinder Kaur Ahluwalia, contested the will in court, pointing out the two witnesses had not both been present when Singh signed it.

Her brother Jarnail Singh, also a solicitor, argued his father's will complied with Sikh tradition in which the oldest sons receive the lion's share of inheritance as it is assumed daughters will be provided for by their husbands' families.

After a four day hearing in which one of the witnesses of the will testified against the brothers, Judge Mark Cawson QC ruled in favour of Ahluwalia.

The judge declared the will invalid and said his estate must now be divided equally between his six children.