Farmer's son who abandoned dream of being a Royal Marine to become a strawberry harvesting...

A farmer's son who became a multimillionaire after he abandoned his dream of becoming a Royal Marine to grow strawberries teamed up with his brother to win a will fight against their other brother over the £10m family fruit empire.

But trouble set in after a family falling out, with Albert changing his will in 2015 to leave his whole estate - including his £1.5m share of the business - to Philip, 56, with the other two brothers not even attending his 2017 funeral. Richard, 58, and Adrian, 55, then sued and, after the fight went through the High Court and Court of Appeal, have now won - and will receive an extra £500,000 share each, with Philip's inheritance cut by £1m.

The court previously heard that Albert and his wife Brenda were married in 1964 and bought the main family farm, Bower Farm, near Bridgwater, Somerset, and ran a market garden business together as they raised their family. After a series of transactions during his and his wife's lifetimes and the effect of her will, his share of the business is now worth about £1.5m, with his three sons owning the rest.The business and farms near Bridgwater in Somerset are now in the process of being sold

Adrian had also abandoned other life plans to dedicate himself to the family business, the judge said. Although Richard would probably not have made as much money in the military or Adrian as a builder, the judge said it was impossible to know what they might have done over 40 years if they had not worked in the family business.

Appealing earlier this month, Philip's barrister Alex Troup KC argued that Richard and Adrian could not show an 'alternative world' in which they would have been better off if they had left the farm. Lady Justice Falk, however, said the case was not just about money, commenting: 'They would not be financially better off but...it's not a pure financial test'.

Source: News Formal (newsformal.com)

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