Champagne and Socialism
I was struck by the size of the estate left by Jimmy Wray, the former Glasgow Labour MP, which was reported in the Sunday Mail yesterday.
Here's the part that caught my eye:
At the time of his death, Jimmy owned two flats and a jeweller’s shop in Aberfoyle, Stirlingshire, a flat in Muirend, Glasgow, and a villa in Cannes which is now on sale with a £700,000 price tag.
A man of the people, right enough.
War over MP's £1m will: Jimmy Wray's widow calls in handwriting expert after she and her disabled son are left without a penny
LAURA Wray was stunned to discover that no provision had been made for Frankie, the 15-year-old son her three-times-married husband doted on. Instead his estate was left to his three grown-up children from his first marriage.
Jimmy Wray MP April 2002, wife Laura Wray and son Frankie Wray age 3
Sunday Mail
THE widow of Labour MP Jimmy Wray has spoken of her shock and heartbreak after discovering their severely disabled son was written out of his will.
Laura Wray was stunned to discover that no provision had been made for Frankie, the 15-year-old son her three-times-married husband doted on.
Instead she discovered the existence of a will which leaves his estate to his three grown-up children from his first marriage to Mary Frew, who he wed in 1963.
Advocate Laura, 51, has hired a hand-writing expert to challenge its authenticity, fearing the four signatures on the will may not be Jimmy’s.
Laura said she was happily married to Jimmy when the will was made and that a missing part of the four-page document casts further doubt on its validity.
Wray, Labour MP for Glasgow Baillieston for 18 years, died in May at the age of 78 from bowel cancer.
He suffered a stroke in 2004 and although they separated five years later, they stayed friends right up to his death.
At his funeral, Laura described the former boxer and coalman from Glasgow’s Gorbals as “a lion of a man”.
Frankie suffers from a severe form of dyspraxia which means he cannot talk, dress or feed himself. He also has difficulty in walking and is doubly incontinent.
But the disputed will leaves his entire estate to Jimmy’s son and daughters from his first marriage – James, 43, Jacqueline, 49, and Michelle, 46.
Lawyers for the Wray estate, Glasgow firm Jeffrey Aitken, have advertised for anyone with an alternative will to contact them.
At the time of his death, Jimmy owned two flats and a jeweller’s shop in Aberfoyle, Stirlingshire, a flat in Muirend, Glasgow, and a villa in Cannes which is now on sale with a £700,000 pricetag.
Laura, who lives in a converted farmhouse in Port of Menteith, near Aberfoyle, said: “He told me he was going to leave money in trust so that Frankie would want for nothing.Then a couple of days after Jimmy’s death, I discover he has been disinherited. It seems inexplicable that Jimmy would do something like this. It does not sit with his public persona or the sort of man he was.
“My concern is for Frankie and not for myself as I did not expect to be left anything after Jimmy’s death. What the will says is that the three children from the first marriage receive everything and Frankie gets nothing.
“Frankie is a boy who will need care for the rest of his life and that will be an expensive provision, as you can imagine.
“He will never work and is at a school for handicapped children.
“There is some doubt about whether in fact it is his will or whether in fact he signed it.
“It suddenly appeared immediately after Jimmy had died.
“It did not make any provision for our son Frankie and in fact disinherited him.
“I was, as you would imagine, devastated.
“I don’t think Jimmy, given his background as a socialist MP, would disinherit him.
“There is some doubt in fact if the will was actually signed by Jimmy. There are four signatures on it and none of them
actually look like any of his signatures.
“I have instructed a handwriting expert to look at all this and I am awaiting the report. I have also asked the estate to see if they would advertise to see if there is another will.
“It is a question of whether or not this will is valid. It was apparently made in May 2008 when we were living happily together as man and wife and long before we were separated.
“There is also a clause missing. It jumps from clause eight to clause 10 – there is no clause nine.
“Jimmy and I were good friends and we kept in touch. He wanted to see Frankie and we would meet up for meals as he could not look after Frankie on his own because of the level of Frankie’s disabilities.
“I was very upset when Jimmy died. I tried to help him out while he was ill, driving him to hospital and giving him as much moral support as I could.
“I am incredibly hurt that, on the face of it, he would feel that that way about his own son. It does not seem like Jimmy at all to me.”
Wray married Laura in 1999 in a glittering ceremony at the Palace of Westminster after a bitter divorce from his second wife Cathy.
Laura, who came from a wealthy middle-class family, was brought up in Glasgow’s west end, went to private school and her father had his own law firm.
She met Jimmy in 1995 at a trade union conference and they set up home together a year later. Laura first learned of the will’s existence when she bumped into James Wray jnr by chance at the antique shop in Aberfoyle days after Jimmy’s death.
She said: “He told me that Frankie had been disinherited.
“I told him I did not think it was fair.
“He told me it was what his father wanted.”
Laura says she only saw the will for the first time a few weeks ago after she hired her own legal team.
She added: “I am legally obliged to pursue this on Frankie’s behalf because of his age, and I will.”
The advocate says her son will probably live until he is at least 70 and will need to be provided for financially after she is dead.
Yesterday, James Wray jnr, a web designer, said: “The estate is not worth £1million. It is probably nearer £300,000 – certainly not more than £400,000.
“Once inheritance tax, bills and lawyers’ fees are paid, there will not be much left.
“I do not have a problem with Frankie getting what he is entitled to under the law.
“It is a legal will and we are happy to let the law take its course.
“There is no dispute as far as we are concerned and the will has not been officially challenged as far as we know.
“She has the marital home and the house in France and a £1200-a-month pension as well – why would you want anything else?
“I think my dad thought these things were more than sufficient for Frankie.
“My sisters feel the same way as I do.
“It is not about the money, though it is nice to get something.
“This can all be sorted out, and I think it will, without any carry-on. My dad told plenty of people that he had a trust for Frankie but I know he
didn’t have one.
“My dad saw a lawyer while he was in hospital before his mind started to go.
“He did not want to change anything.”
Jimmy Wray signed a legal agreement last year with Laura that he would accept £80,000 if their home in Cannes was ever sold.
However, the will does not refer to that agreement. Instead, it says the three children would be entitled to a share of any dwelling in France.
The marital home in Port of Monteith, which they bought jointly in 2005, is worth around £1million and is now owned by Laura.
THE widow of Labour MP Jimmy Wray has spoken of her shock and heartbreak after discovering their severely disabled son was written out of his will.
Laura Wray was stunned to discover that no provision had been made for Frankie, the 15-year-old son her three-times-married husband doted on.
Instead she discovered the existence of a will which leaves his estate to his three grown-up children from his first marriage to Mary Frew, who he wed in 1963.
Advocate Laura, 51, has hired a hand-writing expert to challenge its authenticity, fearing the four signatures on the will may not be Jimmy’s.
Laura said she was happily married to Jimmy when the will was made and that a missing part of the four-page document casts further doubt on its validity.
Wray, Labour MP for Glasgow Baillieston for 18 years, died in May at the age of 78 from bowel cancer.
He suffered a stroke in 2004 and although they separated five years later, they stayed friends right up to his death.
At his funeral, Laura described the former boxer and coalman from Glasgow’s Gorbals as “a lion of a man”.
Frankie suffers from a severe form of dyspraxia which means he cannot talk, dress or feed himself. He also has difficulty in walking and is doubly incontinent.
But the disputed will leaves his entire estate to Jimmy’s son and daughters from his first marriage – James, 43, Jacqueline, 49, and Michelle, 46.
Lawyers for the Wray estate, Glasgow firm Jeffrey Aitken, have advertised for anyone with an alternative will to contact them.
At the time of his death, Jimmy owned two flats and a jeweller’s shop in Aberfoyle, Stirlingshire, a flat in Muirend, Glasgow, and a villa in Cannes which is now on sale with a £700,000 pricetag.
Laura, who lives in a converted farmhouse in Port of Menteith, near Aberfoyle, said: “He told me he was going to leave money in trust so that Frankie would want for nothing.Then a couple of days after Jimmy’s death, I discover he has been disinherited. It seems inexplicable that Jimmy would do something like this. It does not sit with his public persona or the sort of man he was.
“My concern is for Frankie and not for myself as I did not expect to be left anything after Jimmy’s death. What the will says is that the three children from the first marriage receive everything and Frankie gets nothing.
“Frankie is a boy who will need care for the rest of his life and that will be an expensive provision, as you can imagine.
“He will never work and is at a school for handicapped children.
“There is some doubt about whether in fact it is his will or whether in fact he signed it.
“It suddenly appeared immediately after Jimmy had died.
“It did not make any provision for our son Frankie and in fact disinherited him.
“I was, as you would imagine, devastated.
“I don’t think Jimmy, given his background as a socialist MP, would disinherit him.
“There is some doubt in fact if the will was actually signed by Jimmy. There are four signatures on it and none of them
actually look like any of his signatures.
“I have instructed a handwriting expert to look at all this and I am awaiting the report. I have also asked the estate to see if they would advertise to see if there is another will.
“It is a question of whether or not this will is valid. It was apparently made in May 2008 when we were living happily together as man and wife and long before we were separated.
“There is also a clause missing. It jumps from clause eight to clause 10 – there is no clause nine.
“Jimmy and I were good friends and we kept in touch. He wanted to see Frankie and we would meet up for meals as he could not look after Frankie on his own because of the level of Frankie’s disabilities.
“I was very upset when Jimmy died. I tried to help him out while he was ill, driving him to hospital and giving him as much moral support as I could.
“I am incredibly hurt that, on the face of it, he would feel that that way about his own son. It does not seem like Jimmy at all to me.”
Wray married Laura in 1999 in a glittering ceremony at the Palace of Westminster after a bitter divorce from his second wife Cathy.
Laura, who came from a wealthy middle-class family, was brought up in Glasgow’s west end, went to private school and her father had his own law firm.
She met Jimmy in 1995 at a trade union conference and they set up home together a year later. Laura first learned of the will’s existence when she bumped into James Wray jnr by chance at the antique shop in Aberfoyle days after Jimmy’s death.
She said: “He told me that Frankie had been disinherited.
“I told him I did not think it was fair.
“He told me it was what his father wanted.”
Laura says she only saw the will for the first time a few weeks ago after she hired her own legal team.
She added: “I am legally obliged to pursue this on Frankie’s behalf because of his age, and I will.”
The advocate says her son will probably live until he is at least 70 and will need to be provided for financially after she is dead.
Yesterday, James Wray jnr, a web designer, said: “The estate is not worth £1million. It is probably nearer £300,000 – certainly not more than £400,000.
“Once inheritance tax, bills and lawyers’ fees are paid, there will not be much left.
“I do not have a problem with Frankie getting what he is entitled to under the law.
“It is a legal will and we are happy to let the law take its course.
“There is no dispute as far as we are concerned and the will has not been officially challenged as far as we know.
“She has the marital home and the house in France and a £1200-a-month pension as well – why would you want anything else?
“I think my dad thought these things were more than sufficient for Frankie.
“My sisters feel the same way as I do.
“It is not about the money, though it is nice to get something.
“This can all be sorted out, and I think it will, without any carry-on. My dad told plenty of people that he had a trust for Frankie but I know he
didn’t have one.
“My dad saw a lawyer while he was in hospital before his mind started to go.
“He did not want to change anything.”
Jimmy Wray signed a legal agreement last year with Laura that he would accept £80,000 if their home in Cannes was ever sold.
However, the will does not refer to that agreement. Instead, it says the three children would be entitled to a share of any dwelling in France.
The marital home in Port of Monteith, which they bought jointly in 2005, is worth around £1million and is now owned by Laura.
