High-profile mayor settles deceased estate with woman’s family

A dispute over a deceased estate that was left in the hands of the Redland City mayor to administer has been settled.

In 2022, an 85-year-old Redland woman, whose family wants to be known only as Angela, died, leaving her entire $486,000 estate to the Redland Foundation charity.

Redland City Mayor Karen Williams had been appointed executor of the woman’s estate in 2019 and is also one of 11 directors of the Foundation.

Angela’s three children lodged a claim in the District Court last year after discovering they had been written out of their mother’s last will.

While a GP approved Angela’s capacity when she signed the will in October 2019, her family provided evidence to the court that she was showing signs of cognitive impairment two months later.

Her death certificate states she was suffering from dementia.

After protracted legal negotiations, all parties have now agreed to split the remainder of the estate equally between Angela’s three children and the Redland Foundation.

Redlands woman Angela, centre, with daughter Freya and son Nils in happier times.

But much of the estate has already been eaten up in legal fees, including more than $74,000 for administration and litigation and $66,000 for the family’s legal costs, something her daughter Freya said they were trying to avoid.

“It was a year and a bit of legal challenge,” Freya said.

“That included long periods of time where we were waiting for responses from the other side.

“If we’d had a sit down [with the Mayor], if we’d had any contact at all, if we’d had a person to person conversation ... I don’t doubt that we could have come to some sort of arrangement and saved ourselves tens of thousands of dollars.”

In a statement, Williams confirmed the estate had been settled in accordance with due legal process.

She previously defended her role in the matter.

Redland City Mayor Karen Williams has defended her role in handling the estate of a late constituent. A dispute with the family has now been settled.

“I am not sure why I would sit down with the family of Angela to be honest,” Williams told 9News in December.

“I was made executor, unbeknown to me, and those three children – despite not being in the will of their mother – have received three-quarters of her estate.”

In 2022, Williams pleaded guilty to drink-driving and was sentenced to community service. She had crashed her council car into a tree after leaving work and an earlier online meeting with people who had lost loved ones in accidents caused by drink-drivers.

Williams will retire at the council election in March.

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