| abstract | - The unnamed Solicitor acted on behalf of client Mike Baldwin in January 2006. Suffering from early stages of Alzheimer's, Mike's son Danny and his girlfriend Leanne Battersby took advantage of his illness and persuaded Mike to change his will - thus leaving all assets to Danny. In March, the pair again attended the solicitor's office whereby papers had been drawn up for Danny to be awarded power of attorney over his affairs. Following Mike's death in April, the Baldwins and Barlows gathered nervously in the office as the solicitor read out Mike's will: £5,000 each to grandchildren Jamie and Warren Baldwin; £10,000 to son Adam Barlow and everything else - Mike's 51% share of Underworld, his flat, his villa in Spain and all other investments to Danny. Inevitably, Adam was upset that Mike had been manipulated and tried desperately to get Danny to give him a fair share of the factory. With tension at an all-time high amongst the Baldwins, Danny once again sought advice from the solicitor to sort out divorce proceedings as estranged wife Frankie had requested half of his assets after his considerable financial gain but Danny, determined that he would not be undermined by her, falsely informed the solicitor that Frankie had started co-habitating with her boyfriend Nathan Cooper at 7 Coronation Street - their marital home. By the end of July, Danny had finally realised that it was Frankie he truly loved and wanted to win back her affections. He promptly dumped Leanne and offered her £5,000 to get out of his life. With two different copies of Mike's last will as ammunition, Leanne extorted more money out of Danny and handed the copy of the genuine final will to the Barlows'. After this new information had come to light, the solicitor told Danny that he was on shaky ground and advised him to try and settle the matter out of court.
|
