Agulian v Cyganik
In his will, long-term London resident and native of Cyprus Andreas Nathanael gave his Polish-born fiancee, Renata Cyganik, a gift of £50,000. Not enough, she thought. And as his fiancee, she believed that she was entitled to more under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975.
Andreas' £6m estate had more than enough to go around. But Andreas retained many links with Cyprus, despite seemingly having made England his permanent home. Renata could make a claim only if Andreas was domiciled in England or Wales. One court determined that he was, and another that he wasn't.
Agulian v Cyganik pitted Andreas' executors (Agulian and others) against Renata. At stake was a considerable chunk of Andreas' £6m-plus estate.
Andreas (the court refers to the parties by their first names) was born in Cyprus in 1939, moved to London in his teens, and spent most of his adult life in England, although he visited Cyprus frequently and had business interests there. He made a will in 1995 in which he left Renata £50,000. He died in London in 2003, having spent 43 of his 63 years - virtually his entire adult life - in England.
Renata was born in Poland, came to London on a student visa (before Poland became a member of the EU) and overstayed. She was living in England illegally.
The case was first heard by a High Court (2005) judge, who determined that Andreas did obtain domicile in England. But the Court of Appeals (2006) reversed that decision, mostly on the ground that the original judge gave too much weight to Andreas and Renata being engaged.
Renata's status as an illegal immigrant played no part in either her victory in the High Court or her later defeat in the Appeals Court.
The former had simply concluded that Andreas' domicile was England, and the Appeals Court determined that it should have been Cyprus. She was barred from making her claim under the 1975 Act.
Agulian & Anr v Cyganik [2006] EWCA Civ 129
