OAP, 80, who claimed his parents never wanted him wins £175,000 from estranged dad’s estate

A PENSIONER who claimed his parents never wanted him has won £175,000 from his estranged dad’s estate.

Colin Johnston, 80, claimed he was dependant on a payout from his dad Sidney’s will – suing his niece and goddaughter, Lady Natalie Wackett, 41, for a share.

Champion News Service LtdColin Johnston has won a £175,000 payout from his estranged dad’s estate[/caption]

Champion NewsHis niece, Lady Natalie Wackett, claimed his payout should be slashed due to six-figure debts he owed his dad[/caption]

He claimed Sidney, who died at 95 in 2017, left everything to his niece because he resented Colin, but insisted he had a “moral obligation” to provide for him.

Branding the decision to cut him out “inexplicable”, a judge awarded Colin £175,000 from the estate in 2019, but the case went back to court after Lady Natalie claimed his payout should be slashed due to six-figure debts he owed to his dad.

Colin insisted any cut in his payout could see him made homeless and that he should be paid the full amount.

And last week, a High Court judge handed him the final victory, ordering Lady Natalie to pay up.

During the original trial, Mr Johnston told the court he was an “unwanted war baby” who was born while his dad was serving in the RAF during World War Two.

He said his mum, Elsie, had a grudge against him from infancy for getting in the way of her stage career, and told him: “I would have been a Hollywood star if it wasn’t for you.”

He said his parents favoured the rest of his family over him, but his niece, Lady Natalie, claimed Colin had turned his back on his parents – and therefore didn’t deserve a penny of their money.

Following the original ruling that she should pay, Lady Natalie took the case back to court, insisting that any payout to her uncle should be cut to reflect more than £100,000 owed by Colin to his dad following an earlier legal dispute.

She claimed she had discovered a 20-year-old lawyers’ letter in a box of old family papers, proving that Colin still owed his dad cash due to their legal dispute in the 1990s.

But Colin’s barrister, David Giles, said the pensioner is in acute need of cash to help him through his final years – particularly since he doesn’t own his own home and lives in rented housing in Barnet.

‘UNWANTED’

If ultimately forced to leave their current home, he and his wife are “substantially at risk of ending up homeless,” said Mr Giles.

In a judgment last week, Judge James Brightwell accepted Lady Natalie as an “honest and truthful witness”, although noting she felt a “great deal of hostility towards Colin”.

But he said the 2019 judgment in Colin’s favour was made on the clear understanding that he owed nothing to his dad’s estate.

Given that fact, it would be unfair to force Colin now to pay Natalie money from his award, he said.

The court heard Lord Sidney Johnston made his money running a car and property business in north London called Johnston and Sons.

His wife, Lady Elsie, died in 2013 and his son, Lady Natalie’s father Lord Gary in 2016.

In all, Lord Sidney left behind a £2.4million estate – with a net value after expenses of £1.4million.

Champion NewsNatalie Wackett pictured outside London’s High Court[/caption]