Buckeridge Inheritance Dispute Leads to Sale of Company

A long-running dispute over the estate of billionaire businessman Len Buckeridge has led to the company he founded, the BGC Group, being put up for sale, reports the Australian Financial Review. 

According to one of his sons, who is also one of the heirs to the estate, the sale has proved necessary to meet the differing needs of the many heirs named in his father’s Will.

Len Buckeridge died in 2014 and left behind an estate worth around $2.5 billion. The beneficiaries named in the Will included his widow, his former wife, six children and eight grandchildren.

After his death difficulties soon arose over the way in which some inheritances had been left, particularly with regard to shares in BGC Group, which the Will stipulated had to be held in trust until 2019. Some family members brought legal challenges to the Will, seeking to have their inheritances paid in cash rather than in shares.

The sale of the company has apparently been agreed by all the heirs and is seen as the best way to bring about an end to the ongoing disputes over the estate and to meet the varying requirements of the beneficiaries.

Legal challenges to Wills are a relatively common occurrence and can be brought on a variety of different grounds. In NSW the main grounds for challenging the validity of a Will include:

• The Will is ‘Grossly Unfair’
• Lack of Testamentary Capacity
• Duress, Fraud & Undue Influence

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Szabo & Associates, Solicitors can offer expert advice on a wide range of legal matters, including contesting, making or updating a Will and preparing an Enduring Power of Attorney and Appointments of Enduring Guardians. Please call George Szabo on (02) 9281-5088 or fill in our online contact form.