Tim Baillieu, grandson of Myer director Reginald, sues over tiny inheritance from stepmother Helen’s multimillion dollar estate

A grandson of the late Reginald Baillieu, a giant of the Baillieu-Myer business and political dynasty, inherited less than one per cent of his stepmother’s estate. Now he's suing.

Tim Baillieu, grandson of Reginald Baillieu and part of the Baillieu Myer family is contesting his stepmother Helen’s will.

A member of the sprawling Baillieu-Myer business and political dynasty claims he was unfairly cut out of the family’s millions, and has launched legal proceedings in a bid to secure a larger slice of his stepmother’s multimillion-dollar estate.

Tim Baillieu, 63, last month launched legal proceedings in the Supreme Court claiming his stepmother Helen Baillieu unfairly cut him out of his will.

The value of the $5.8m estate at the heart of the Supreme Court action can largely be traced back to Tim Baillieu’s late grandfather, Reginald Baillieu, who was a hero WWI pilot and sister of Dame Margery Merlyn Baillieu Myer.

Reginald was a director of Myer Emporium in the 1950s and 60s, following the death of Dame Merlyn’s husband, Sidney Myer.

Reginald’s substantial fortune was passed on to his children, including Ronald Baillieu — Tim’s father — who in turn passed the money on to his second wife, Helen, when he died in 1997.

Tim Baillieu, a distant cousin of former premier Ted Baillieu, and grandson of former Myer Emporium director Reginald Baillieu, is suing the estate of his late stepmother, Helen, after being left just $50,000 in her will.

Documents filed in the Supreme Court do not divulge why Helen only bequeathed Tim Baillieu less than one per cent of her estate, but Tim Baillieu claims he is “deserving” of a larger inheritance, the precise size of which he is yet to state.

In his writ, Tim Baillieu alleges his stepmother’s decision to leave him only a $50,000 sliver of her $5.8m estate amounted to a failure to “make adequate provision for the proper maintenance and support of (him)”.

Part of the massive Baillieu / Myer family tree

Tim Baillieu’s decision to sue over his paltry inheritance could end in a public legal bunfight over the remnants of one of the Australia’s great business fortunes, but the court typically refers disputes over inheritances to private mediation in a bid to avoid them ending up at trial.

The wealth of the extended Baillieu clan has been estimated at being between $700m and $1bn, although its value is difficult to precisely estimate because much of it tied up in premium real estate and in investments managed by the family’s private investment office, Mutual Trust, which also manages wealth for other prominent Australian families, and which is currently chaired by Peter Hay.

Dame Merlyn at her desk in the Myer Lonsdale store 1972

Tim Baillieu will ask the Supreme Court to award him a larger portion of his late stepmother’s estate. Picture: Supplied

Tim Baillieu, who lives on a rural property in the state’s north, is not publicly listed as a shareholder in Mutual Trust, or any of its subsidiary companies.

He is a distant cousin of former state premier, Ted Baillieu, and great nephew of Baillieu family matriarch, Dame Merlyn.

The wealthier members of the Baillieu-Myer dynasty largely reside in Toorak, London, or on the Mornington or Bellarine peninsulas.

Tim Baillieu declined to comment.

His solicitor, John Sinisgalli, was approached for comment.