Court Fight over $1M Estate left to Male Escort

[Nutella]

I wonder if the family visited her while she was alive

Court fight looms over $1M estate left to male escort | CBC News

WWW.CBC.CA

---

The will of a deceased B.C. woman will be contested by an old friend, her closest living relatives and a male escort she hired who is approximately 54 years her...

 

Edited June 19 by Nutella

[+ BenjaminNicholas]

This is why an estate needs a strong, legally aware executor to fight for the desires of the deceased.

If the escort is fortunate, his executor will threaten opposing counsel with having to pay for all legal fees in the event this is a frivolous objection.

[maninsoma]

My reaction to this story is one of sadness, and not because she left her estate to the escort.  It's just that it sounds like she hadn't really spent that much time with the guy and yet she felt closer to him than anyone else.  Her previous male friend who was her personal trainer was her previous heir, but he moved away so she changed her will.  There isn't anything in the story to indicate the level of closeness between the niece and nephew who are trying to claim her estate, but I'm guessing there wasn't much there.  I hope I have the clarity of mind to just leave whatever I have to charity if I find myself in that situation as I surely wouldn't just want everything I own to be taken by nieces and nephews I have no relationship with.

Edited June 19 by maninsoma

[Luv2play]

CBC is reporting a case that is going to trial in British Columbia. It involves a straight male escort who went by the escort name of Sam Gaines (no irony intended) and whose real name was Simon Garstin. He was 30 and his female client was in her 80’s . She died in 2021 and left her small fortune of $1 million to him. She was a widow and had no children.

They had had what I call a regular deal and in one year she slept with him overnight 7 times.  She was lonely and this was during COVID that they had a relationship. He advertised his services as a male escort for companionship and sex. They did both (what a girl!).

Of course this is where the distant relatives step in and contest the will. They are a niece and nephew and live in Australia. Hardly ever saw her. But they are the next of kin and barring the will would inherit. They were also mentioned in the will but only if the escort predeceased her.

And to complicate things a former trainer of hers, who was her beneficiary in a previous will, is also contesting the will. The kin are both mentioned as residuals if either the trainer in the earlier will or the escort in the last will predeceased her (fat chance).

I’m rooting for Simon. In her last months he gave her the great gift of the human touch and intimate exchanges. The trainer had earlier given her some of the same human interaction concerning her physical well being. And the kin folk are just counting on bloodlines to put them at the head of the gravy train. 
 

We’ll see how it turns out. 

[Luv2play]

I see another poster has already started this subject in another thread. Moderator: Maybe my post can be combined with his. 

[Luv2play]

1 hour ago, BenjaminNicholas said:

This is why an estate needs a strong, legally aware executor to fight for the desires of the deceased.

If the escort is fortunate, his executor will threaten opposing counsel with having to pay for all legal fees in the event this is a frivolous objection.

The escort is a beneficiary and the executor would have been named by her in her will which I assume was drawn up by a lawyer. Unless she named him executor, the beneficiary (the escort Simon) will have hire his own lawyer to represent his interests. 
 

I am currently acting as an executor to a friend’s estate and fortunately all the beneficiaries are playing nice so far. I haven’t got to the point of divvying up the loot yet so we’ll see how it goes. Lol

[+ BenjaminNicholas]

1 minute ago, Luv2play said:

The escort is a beneficiary and the executor would have been named by her in her will which I assume was drawn up by a lawyer. Unless she named him executor, the beneficiary (the escort Simon) will have hire his own lawyer to represent his interests. 
 

I am currently acting as an executor to a friend’s estate and fortunately all the beneficiaries are playing nice so far. I haven’t got to the point of divvying up the loot yet so we’ll see how it goes. Lol

The executor of an estate is responsible for settling disputes that arise against the estate. This includes handling claims from creditors, resolving disagreements among beneficiaries, and potentially even defending the estate against legal challenges. 

I know this from first-hand experience.

[Luv2play]

17 minutes ago, BenjaminNicholas said:

The executor of an estate is responsible for settling disputes that arise against the estate. This includes handling claims from creditors, resolving disagreements among beneficiaries, and potentially even defending the estate against legal challenges. 

I know this from first-hand experience.

That’s absolutely right. But he is not the beneficiary’s executor, as you said. The executor is acting for the deceased’s estate. The various claimants will all have to engage lawyers to represent their interests. The executor will also hire a lawyer, if he/she is not one himself/herself. 

[Luv2play]

It’s a shame really because the lawyers will eat up the estate. 

[+ PhileasFogg]

9 hours ago, BenjaminNicholas said:

The executor of an estate is responsible for settling disputes that arise against the estate. This includes handling claims from creditors, resolving disagreements among beneficiaries, and potentially even defending the estate against legal challenges. 

I know this from first-hand experience.

Yes, unfortunately using the assets of the estate to fund the legal challenges to the detriment of the woman’s wishes.  

[+ BenjaminNicholas]

5 hours ago, PhileasFogg said:

Yes, unfortunately using the assets of the estate to fund the legal challenges to the detriment of the woman’s wishes.  

Exactly. 

Which is why it helps when the executor is also an attorney who can attack it quickly (and perhaps at a reduced hourly rate).

 

[Constantine]

Family challenges 84-year-old B.C. woman’s will after $1M left to ‘male escort’

WWW.CP24.COM

---

The closest living relatives of an 84-year-old B.C. widow who left her $1 million estate to a much-younger “professional companion and male escort” have been given the go-ahead...

 

This is a pretty interesting story of a straight male escort who is set to receive a million bucks after a client left them in their will. The client's family is challenging the will. Are there any similar stories in the gay world? Would you personally put an escort in your will?

[dutchal]

21 hours ago, BenjaminNicholas said:

This is why an estate needs a strong, legally aware executor to fight for the desires of the deceased.

If the escort is fortunate, his executor will threaten opposing counsel with having to pay for all legal fees in the event this is a frivolous objection.

Proving a legal claim is frivolous is a heavy burden.  Simply having a losing claim is a long way from satisfying the burden.  In British Columbia, a "frivolous lawsuit . . . refers to a legal action that lacks any merit or substance, and is brought forth solely for the purpose of harassing, intimidating, or causing unnecessary expense to the [other party or parties]." 

In this case, there is probably enough circumstantial evidence raising a suspicion of undue influence to avoid the will objections being found frivolous.

It is also, however, a heavy burden to show undue influence.  Interestingly, while the article cites a number of text messages, none pertain to the will, and the escort claims that she and he never discussed the will.  From the very little bit we can see in the article, it would seem that the will contest will be an uphill fight. 

[+ BenjaminNicholas]

18 minutes ago, dutchal said:

Proving a legal claim is frivolous is a heavy burden.  Simply having a losing claim is a long way from satisfying the burden.  In British Columbia, a "frivolous lawsuit . . . refers to a legal action that lacks any merit or substance, and is brought forth solely for the purpose of harassing, intimidating, or causing unnecessary expense to the [other party or parties]." 

In this case, there is probably enough circumstantial evidence raising a suspicion of undue influence to avoid the will objections being found frivolous.

It is also, however, a heavy burden to show undue influence.  Interestingly, while the article cites a number of text messages, none pertain to the will, and the escort claims that she and he never discussed the will.  From the very little bit we can see in the article, it would seem that the will contest will be an uphill fight. 

Bottom line, in the States, if you're found competent when signing the final version of your will, that tends to be more than enough.

Opposing counsel has a steep hill to climb to somehow prove she didn't know what she was doing.  It's possible, sure, but not probable.

In Texas, TRCP 13 and Chapter 10 are taken very seriously. 

Waste a probate judge's time and you'll quickly be on the wrong side of the fence.

[Luv2play]

The one aspect of the case that intrigued me was the horniness of this elderly widow. Most people don’t think of 80 something’s still being interested in fucking. This proves them wrong. 
What was that old Sophie Tucker line. 20 goes into 80 a helluva lot more than 80 into 20. 

[jeezifonly]

The escort might simply have been the only man in 20yrs who actually listened to her…

[Peter Eater]

17 hours ago, BenjaminNicholas said:

Bottom line, in the States, if you're found competent when signing the final version of your will, that tends to be more than enough.

Opposing counsel has a steep hill to climb to somehow prove she didn't know what she was doing.  It's possible, sure, but not probable.

From the published texts, Mr. Garstin, the escort, was an anti-vaxxer. He’s the one with mental competency issues, not the 84-year-old widow.

[Peter Eater]

A 2021 interview with the escort: 

An Interview With... Sam Gaines - Being a Male Escort - Lyla

WWW.LYLA.CH

---

Each time I do one of these interviews Im blown away by how much Ive learnt and how many strong and interesting voices there are here in Canada...

 

[+ BenjaminNicholas]

42 minutes ago, Peter Eater said:

From the published texts, Mr. Garstin, the escort, was an anti-vaxxer. He’s the one with mental competency issues, not the 84-year-old widow.

Perhaps, but it's neither here nor there in this conversation.

[Peter Eater]

12 minutes ago, BenjaminNicholas said:

Perhaps, but it's neither here nor there in this conversation.

Actually it is. In court, her competence will be framed by common social and cultural prejudices around age, gender and sex, which are finally irrelevant — “neither here nor there.”

[d.anders]

Estate executors can do shady things. They are given quite a bit of power, depending on the State. Having one that is a lawyer is no guarantee of trust. If you are gifted in someone's will, and you can't afford to fight for it when a legal remedy becomes a requirement, it's an easy rabbit hole of pain, anguish, and serious expense. I've never met an estate lawyer willing to work for a reduced rate.

When I was much younger, I had a great-uncle who died without a will, and left about $3 million. He had 5 siblings, who were estranged. He did not like them. The 2-year fight over his money should have been turned into a movie. The lawyers did very well. They may have gotten a third it it. I think I ended up with $1,200. It would have been far more if the case had been settled more quickly.

I've been an executor several times through the AIDS crisis. These were painful experiences that I would not like to repeat. I had to deal with several parents who did not know their son was gay, and who were left out of his will.

Edited June 20 by d.anders

[+ nycman]

I’m not a lawyer, and I personally can’t stand them, but I have been through several (thankfully amicable) estate settlements as an executor. So take this all with a grain of salt. Also, my knowledge is limited to mostly NY State. Nonetheless, my understanding is that most states are very similar regarding estates and Wills.

The next of kin must always be notified when an estate is being settled. Even if they are left nothing. They will also always have standing to contest the Will. That doesn’t mean they’ll win, but they can cause huge ($$$) headaches. Most scummy lawyers (excuse the redundancy), know the estate would rather just pay them off than waste time and $$$ defending against them. So the next of kin will almost always be able to get something. No matter what the Will says. 

My best advice is to leave the legal heirs something (10% or so) and state that if any of them contests the will, they all get nothing. It’s not a guarantee but in general it’s usually enough to get them to sit the fuck down and shut the fuck up. The rats will take the money and run. 

In NY State anyone named in the Will previous to the one being executed, also has standing to contest the will. They are not notified, but many people know when they are in a Will one day and out the next. Keep an eye on them as well. 

Anyone contesting a Will will need to prove that the person was mentally unsound, or under undue influence when they drew up and signed their Will. This is the #1 reason not to use "WillsRUs.com" and instead use a reputable local lawyer (sorry for the oxymoron). That lawyer will be able to explain how and why they believed the deceased was of sound mind and body. In fact, if they didn’t believe that, they’d most likely be exposing themselves to a malpractice claim, so they have incentive to defend the decedent’s competency vigorously. 

Outright winning the contesting of a Will is difficult. Shaking down an estate down for 10-15% is easy. See my advice above about leaving the dirtbags something with the risk of getting nothing if they make trouble. Few are willing to roll the dice, and no lawyer really wants that case either.

Thats a Win. Win. And about the best you can hope for IMHO.

Having said all of that. No court is going to leave the family Zero. No matter what you write. Especially, if you’re trying to give everything to a whore. Trust me on this one. Give everybody a little. Set traps for the troublemakers, and then forget about it. You’re dead. 

[+ Vegas_Millennial]

7 hours ago, Peter Eater said:

From the published texts, Mr. Garstin, the escort, was an anti-vaxxer. He’s the one with mental competency issues, not the 84-year-old widow.

And yet Mr. Garstin is the one still alive and stands to inherit $1M.  Maybe he's the one who is smarter than the rest of us 😜 

Edited June 20 by Vegas_Millennial

[Peter Eater]

16 hours ago, Vegas_Millennial said:

And yet Mr. Garstin is the one still alive and stands to inherit $1M.  Maybe he's the one who is smarter than the rest of us 😜 

Depends on your definition of “smart.” 🙄