Alice Adam (Couwenbergh v Valkova)

Born in Poland in 1900 to a German family, Alice Adam settled in London after the Second World War. She never married or had children. Her closest relative, her brother, lived in Holland and had a son and daughter. His daughter Barbara - Alice Adam's granddaughter - married a Dutchman, Petrus Couwenbergh. It it his surname that adorns the lawsuit.

In 1978 Alice Adam made a will leaving everything to her relatives in Holland. When she wrote her new will 17 years later, she cut them out entirely. At the time, her estate was worth approximately £1m. She died in October 1991, a year after making the new will.

The driving force behind the new will was Dr Bilyana Valkova, who worked in the hospital where Alice Adam had been a patient. Dr Valkova started lodging in Alice Adam's house in 1984.

Dr Valkova handled virtually all aspects of the new will. She wrote the text, organised the witnesses, and found and instructed solicitors.

Alice Adam did little more than sign her name to first one will and, five days later, to another.

Why did Dr Valkova arrange for a second will to be drawn up only a few days after the first one?

The first will suffered from a serious - actually, an incredibly blatant - defect. All of it fit on one page except for the signature of the second witness, which was the sole item on a second sheet.

The will drafter a few days later to overcome this defect was also flawed but the High Court let it stand. Dr Valkova inherited Alice Adam's entire estate, leaving the Couwenberghs with nothing. The unhappy relatives also faced stiff court costs. This outcome was a total reversal of the 1978 will, rendered even harsher by the legal costs.

The Couwenberghs appealed, and the Court of Appeals judges had plenty to chew on. The solicitor who drew up Alice Adam's will had not actually dealt with her in person. Dr Valkova instructed a firm of solicitors who were not local and, in fact, were located so far away that it was inconvenient for them to meet Alice Adam in person.

The witnesses organised by Dr Valkova were foreign and were unfamiliar with English practice concerning wills and witnessing.

Dr Valkova's testimony also left something to be desired, with one judge concluding that she was 'calculating and manipulative.’

The Court of Appeals ruled in favour of the Couwenberghs but not for any of these reasons. Rather, the Court concluded that Alice Adam had been suffering from moderate to severe dementia when she signed the 1990 wills. Both wills were disallowed on those grounds and the 1978 will was reinstated.

It was now Dr Valkova who emerged empty-handed. She had also been stripped of legal aid after it was learned that she had failed to declare her ownership of property in Bulgaria.

Devilish details

Several tantalising details emerged from the various court cases.

In 1990, the first solicitor approached by Dr. Valkova wanted to ascertain Alice Adam's state of mind. Dr. Valkova promptly consulted different solicitors.

Solicitor Number Two did meet Alice Adam in person, and this solicitor's notes indicate that she wanted nothing to do with her relatives. But the final will was drafted by a third firm of solicitors.

In 2000, ten years after Alice Adam died, police investigated her death but forensic reports were inconclusive and no criminal charges were brought.

The police also raised questions about the witnessing of the will. Some evidence suggests that the witnesses did not actually see Alice Adam sign it, and there were allegations of forgery. But this sad saga is full of contradictory and self-contradictory testimony, and these and other questions remain unanswered.