was not his son is in itself a strong indication that Bane’s relationship with Zoran had
been poisoned by his delusions.
219.
On behalf of the CPA, Mr Simmonds QC submitted that Bane’s decision to disinherit
Zoran was explicable on the basis that Bane had become disillusioned with his son,
and realised that he was never going to change. By 1988 they had not seen each other
for over two years, and were becoming estranged. Mr Simmonds suggested that Bane
was a disappointed father, who did not wish Zoran to inherit any part of his estate if
he was not going to make anything of his life. He suggested that this decision was a
natural progression from the 1984 Codicil, by which Bane had postponed the age at
which Zoran would take his estate from 25 to 35. At that stage, Bane had not yet
finally given up his hopes for his son, but the postponement of the vesting age is a
clear indication that he was concerned, and wished to give him a final opportunity to
prove himself. He had no wish to leave Zoran destitute, as is shown by his intention
to give him £100,000 to establish himself in 1985, and his arrangement with his sister
and mother that the Gleneagles property should be transferred to Zoran.
220.
These submissions were skilfully advanced by Mr Simmonds, but I am unable to
accept them. Bane’s disappointment with Zoran’s lifestyle and failure to embark
upon a career was already well established by the date of the 1984 Codicil, but Bane’s
reaction to it, assuming that he then had testamentary capacity, was merely to
postpone the age at which Zoran would become absolutely entitled to his estate by 10
years. This was a natural and measured step for a father in Bane’s position to take,
and it was no doubt primarily prompted by the removal of Mirjana’s life interest
which meant that the gift to Zoran was no longer a gift in remainder but would take
effect immediately following his own death. It is, however, one thing to postpone the
age of vesting by 10 years. It is quite another thing to cut out one’s only child from
any share in one’s estate. I do not for a moment believe that Bane would have taken
this extreme step if he had not been under the influence of his deluded beliefs.
Furthermore, the suggestion that Bane had somehow made adequate provision for
Zoran outside his will is in my judgment unsustainable. The Gleneagles property was
not Bane’s to give away, and although he was no doubt glad to see Zoran provided for
in this way, he made it clear in his letter to Zoran dated 16 March 1986 that Zoran had
to be “very thankful, grateful and devoted” to his aunt and mother. This may have
been meant by Bane ironically – he was by now firmly in the grip of his delusions but it certainly provides no foundation for any suggestion that Bane consciously
engineered the transfer of the property to Zoran. Indeed, Jovanka’s evidence was that
Bane’s desire to have confirmation of the transfer was no more than a device for
holding up the process of settlement with her. As to the £100,000, I have already said
more than once that Bane never translated his intention to give £100,000 to Zoran into
action, and one reason for this may well have been that he associated it with the
incident when the locks were changed. Certainly the “History of Westmead House”
suggests some kind of causal connection between the projected gift, the changing of
the locks and Bane’s final estrangement from Zoran. Finally, and in any event, even
if Bane had given the Gleneagles property and £100,000 to Zoran, this would have
represented meagre provision indeed in the context of Bane’s personal wealth which
must have amounted to several million pounds by the mid 1980s.
221.
The suggestion was also made that, even though Bane’s wish to give £100,000 to
Zoran was thwarted by the freezing of his bank accounts, he nevertheless achieved the
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