An acrimonious family dispute involving a contested will has been put under the spotlight in the high court.

Timothy James Fielding, 43, claimed he had been written out of his late father Allan’s will due to ‘undue influence and false statements’ made by family members.

Deemster John Needham said in a judgment: ‘As ever with these types of cases, where family members are locked in dispute, the acrimony and rancour generated will sadly be felt by those involved probably for the rest of their lives.

‘There seems little chance of repair of the schism between the factions of the family and all the court can do is to attempt to provide some legal certainty regarding the distribution of the deceased’s assets.’

Allan Arthur Fielding, of Cronk Dean, Douglas, signed his last will and testament in October 2020.

He died in April 2022, leaving an estate worth no more than £240,000.

His son maintained he had been written out of the will.

He claimed his father’s second wife Maria, and his sister Sara, had cast ‘dishonest aspersions’ and persuaded her husband that Timothy was not his biological son.

Maria and Sara had prevented him from speaking to Allan, he claimed, and had told his father that he was financially well-off, having sold a company for more than £500,000.

He said this was untrue and alleged ‘fake documents’ had been used to falsely inflate his assets, resulted in his being excluded from the 2020 will.

Maria and Sara denied the allegations, insisting they didn’t know the contents of the will until Allan’s death.

His widow said Timothy had only himself to blame for being excluded from the will and Sara denied questioning Timothy’s paternity or ever using false documentation.

Motor insurance loss adjuster Allan Fielding moved to the Isle of Man from Liverpool after separating from his first wife Norma in 2001, although they had bought a flat in Ramsey in the 1990s.

He married Maria in August 2016 and the couple remained happily married for the rest of his life.

She was named as one of the executors in the 2020 will.

Timothy did not attend the wedding.

Allan had three children to his first wife Norma - mother-of-three Sara and Timothy and Paul.

Timothy, who is registered disabled, represented himself in court but Deemster Needham said he did not find him a particularly reliable witness.

‘Rather unfortunately he jumped to conclusions very quickly without very much evidence and the inferences he drew were often erroneous,’ the Deemster said.

He said Maria appeared an accurate and honest witness and he found Sara, the one who had most to gain from the 2020 will being upheld, had also given an accurate account.

Sara’s evidence was that her father had been upset that Timothy and Paul had not attending his wedding. She said that Allan told her at the time that Timothy had used words to the effect of ‘well there goes my inheritance then’.

Timothy claimed his father had made an earlier will in 2006 which he had kept in a blue folder in the flat in Ramsey.

He said Allan had told him that he had left his estate and the flat ‘in guardianship’ to Norma and that his intention was for the estate to be divided between Timothy and Paul.

The Deemster said in all likelihood there was a previous will but one possibility was that Allan had destroyed it. He said he was unable to make a finding of what provisions it might have contained. Deemster Needham found that it was Allan’s own decision to make a will in 2020 and that this was not influenced in any way by either Sara or Maria.

He dismissed the claim that the will was invalid but made an order that Sara pay Timothy a lump sum of £8,000 out of her inheritance to pay off his outstanding debts.