Wealthy squatter house lawyer denies forging wills in ‘high-stakes’ battle over $20 million fortune

A wealthy lawyer who tried to use “squatter’s rights” to claim a pair of abandoned Sydney homes has now emerged at the centre of a bizarre legal battle for a $20m fortune.

A wealthy lawyer who unsuccessfully sought to claim squatter’s rights over a pair of Sydney homes has emerged at the centre of another bizarre court case involving allegedly “forged” wills in a fight over a multimillion-dollar fortune left by a prominent solicitor.

Yael Abraham, whose unrelated squatter’s rights claim was thrown out of the NSW Supreme Court last month, has been locked in a protracted three-year probate contest with Annie Goldberg, seeking to set aside wills left by Ms Goldberg’s parents in favour of two alternative wills that allegedly appoint Ms Abraham as sole executor of their estates.

Leon Goldberg, a well known criminal solicitor, died in June 2020 aged 91. His former partner, Carol Goldberg, died in January 2014.

Ms Goldberg was their only child. Ms Abraham, herself a retired solicitor now living in Queensland, has no biological relationship to Leon but claims to have been his friend and confidante — a claim denied by Ms Goldberg, who has alleged the two wills are forgeries.

Neither side’s claims have yet been tested at trial.

On Thursday, NSW Supreme Court Justice Michael Slattery rejected a bid by Ms Goldberg to have the case dismissed outright — instead ordering Ms Abraham not to continue her “unacceptably chaotic conduct of the proceedings” she first brought in March 2022, including repeated “highly disruptive” failures to appear for hearings and changes of lawyers.

“The proceedings have not been struck out,” he said.

“But Ms Goldberg’s motion has been adjourned and may be revived depending on Ms Abraham’s further adherence to Court timetables, directions and orders in relation to further conduct of the proceedings.”

Retired solicitor Yael Abraham. Picture: Supplied

Justice Slattery warned “this is a very high-stakes contest”.

“Ms Goldberg alleges that the 2014 and 2015 wills were forged,” he said.

“Ms Abraham says that she believes the wills are genuine and should be admitted to probate. She strongly denies she was involved in any forgery and that if it turns out the wills are forgeries then she says the forgeries must have been engineered by others. The issue is yet to be decided at trial.”

But Justice Slattery noted that in certain cases “where forgery by some person is established, or strongly indicated, after a civil trial, this might lead to the referral of the proceedings to the Attorney-General for consideration of a prosecution” carrying a possible prison sentence of 14 years.

“Such referrals are made from time to time after the outcome of civil trials where forgery is alleged,” he said.

“By drawing attention to this, the Court is not indicating any view that forgery has occurred in this case but merely reminding both parties that civil litigation can be very consequential beyond its central contest.”

Carol and Leon Goldberg left behind a substantial estate that included properties in Vaucluse, the Blue Mountains, Dulwich Hill and Ambarvale, thought to be worth at least $20 million.

In 2022, one of Leon’s properties — a dilapidated and abandoned old shop on a waterfront block on Fitzwilliam Street, Vaucluse — was sold at auction for $17.1 million.

At the time of her death, Carol’s primary asset was her Ambarvale home, valued at $450,000.

Leon Goldberg’s former home on Fitzwilliam Street, Vaucluse. Picture: Supplied

In July 2013, she had made a will, constructed from a will kit, that appointed Leon as her executor and gave the whole of her estate to him. Leon’s will of April 2018 in turn appointed his daughter as his executor and sole beneficiary of his estate.

However, Ms Abraham alleges that Carol made another will in late January 2014, shortly before her death.

“Controversially in these proceedings, only a copy of this will is available, not the original,” Justice Slattery noted.

The typewritten 2014 document names Ms Abraham as Carol’s executrix and reads:

“3. I GIVE to my daughter Annie Goldberg of [address] the sum of $80 pw. I say I do not want my daughter to loose (sic) her sickness benefits Given certain allegations she [Ms Goldberg] makes against me I make it clear that I deny totally the false allegations she makes. I say she knows what they are. I further say my daughter is due to receive a large inheritance from her father, Leon Goldberg and has received considerable amounts of money from him.

“4. I GIVE the balance of my estate to my executrix to hold for life for the benefit of her daughter with a disability, CHRISTINE ALYSON FABRIVCATO, also known as ALYSON ABRAHAM and in the event of her death before me, to her surviving children.”

The foot of the 2014 will bears a handwritten signature reading “Carol Goldberg” and an attestation clause recording the names of two witnesses, “Barry Raymond Thom” and “Zoltan Even Chen Nyti”.

The court noted it was unclear how Ms Abraham came by the 2014 will.

The property sold at auction in 2022 for $17 million. Picture: Supplied

“She says that she was not involved in its preparation or execution but that it was delivered to her, by persons unknown, some months after Carol’s death,” Justice Slattery said.

According to Ms Abraham, she informed Leon about the 2014 will but he requested her not to obtain a grant of probate due to Carol’s tenuous mental capacity at the time it was made. “Ms Abraham’s version has Leon accepting her account of how she (Ms Abraham) came by the 2014 will,” Justice Slattery said.

“It might be expected that a lawyer as clever as Leon might have asked many questions about the provenance of the 2014 will. Ms Abraham attempts to explain the origins of the 2014 will on the basis that Carol had met Ms Abraham’s daughter, Alice, and admired what Ms Abraham was doing for her.”

In May 2015, according to Ms Abraham, Leon also made a will appointing her as his executrix. The typewritten document, which at one point misspells his name as “Leong”, reads:

“3. I GIVE the following specific bequests:

“(i) to the United Israel appeal the sum of $50,000,

“(ii) to the NSW Friendship Circle the sum of $50,000,

“(iii) to my brother CHARLES GOLDBERG my share of [the Blue Mountains property],

“(iv) to my executrix YAEL ABRAHAM the sum of $250,000.”

It then gives 50 per cent of the residue of the estate to be held on trust by Ms Abraham for Ms Goldberg, declaring that she “suffers from a mental illness” and is “not capable of managing her own financial affairs”. The attesting witnesses are recorded as “Joseph Saul Ezekiel” and “Zoltan Even Chen Nyti”.

“Ms Abraham’s account was that she had sufficient confidence from both Carol and Leon to be entrusted with the executorship of their wills,” Justice Slattery said. “It will be strongly contested at any final hearing.”

Mr Goldberg suffered from dementia and died in a nursing home in 2020. Picture: Supplied

Ms Abraham provided the court with a lengthy 51-page affidavit, and 275 pages of annexures, that details the “extensive relationship she claims she had with Leon and Carol and their daughter”.

She alleges she first met Leon when she was a young child and later again when she was practising as a solicitor in the 1980s, when he and she referred legal work to one another.

“The Court is not presently judging the merits of this case, but the extensive detail Ms Abraham provided indicates that it is a case that would require detailed consideration at trial to evaluate its merits and persuasiveness, or otherwise,” Justice Slattery said.

In challenging probate of the 2018 will, Ms Abraham has sought evidence related to Leon’s mental state in the final years of his life as he began to exhibit signs of dementia.

Leon was moved to a nursing home in Vaucluse in May 2018 where he lived until his death.

Ms Abraham told the court she brought the proceedings for altruistic reasons for the benefit of the beneficiaries of the 2014 and 2015 wills.

“Ms Abraham says she was not involved in the preparation either of Carol’s 2014 will or Leon’s 2015 will,” Justice Slattery said.

“But Ms Abraham has not so far adduced any evidence as to who prepared these wills. Ms Abraham has at various times been asked to bring into Court the originals of Carol’s 2014 will, and Leon’s 2015 will. She has produced neither. She has made available what she claims are photocopies of the original of each will.”

At the agreement of both parties, the photocopy documents were examined by handwriting expert Melanie Holt, who delivered her report in July 2023.

Justice Michael Slattery. Photo: Supplied

“It concludes that there is moderately strong support for the hypothesis that someone other than Leon wrote the signature on the 2015 will and that the 2015 will contains anomalies throughout that bring its veracity as a whole [into] question,” Justice Slattery said.

“Due to the limited number of available specimen signatures provided for Carol, Ms Holt was unable to reach a conclusion concerning the testator’s signature on the 2014 will but she observed anomalies throughout the 2014 will, which brought its veracity into question.”

The court was scathing of Ms Abraham for her handling of the case to date, but declined to dismiss the proceedings.

Justice Slattery said a number of witnesses Ms Abraham had put forward left “substantial questions of fact to be tried which should ordinarily be allowed to go to final hearing for their final resolution”.

“At such a final hearing the contest about the execution of the wills will involve examination of the competing expert handwriting evidence and the evidence of the attesting witnesses,” he said.

“A vast range of possible factual findings may emerge from the contest about the various alleged suspicious circumstances.”

Ms Goldberg sought to rely on evidence in the recently decided squatter’s rights case “as showing up Ms Abraham as in substance an opportunist, conduct which Ms Goldberg says is replicated in these proceedings”.

“But the Court declines that invitation,” Justice Slattery said. “These applications are decided solely upon the evidence in these proceedings.”

Ms Abraham will be allowed to review the medical evidence produced on subpoena “so that these proceedings can now be accelerated on a tight timetable” towards resolution.

Justice Slattery also ordered Ms Abraham to file an affidavit on her financial position within 14 days to test the “potentially very doubtful assertion” she had made previously that lack of funds was the reason for her “inability to retain solicitors and advance this case” and pay previous costs orders.

“It is appropriate for her to show some such commitment as a condition of allowing these proceedings to go on and to deter her from repetition of the unacceptably chaotic conduct of the proceedings which has occurred in the past,” he said.

The case resumes in June.

Ms Abraham has been contacted for comment.