TWO wives who married the same man have been locked in a bitter row over who gets his £1.8million fortune.
But a recent court hearing has found the fighting could be over nothing as the life-changing amount of cash may have been emptied out of his estate.
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James Dinsdale died of cancer in 2020 leaving behind a £1.8 million fortune Credit: Supplied by Champion News
James married Victoria Fowell at the Little White Wedding Chapel wedding venue, Las Vegas Boulevard Credit: Champion News Service
James Dinsdale, a wealthy accountant and WWII history expert, married Margaret Dinsdale and dentist Dr Victoria Fowell, who both got hitched to him in Las Vegas ceremonies five years apart.
He wed Dr Victoria Fowell – a 53-year-old dentist – in 2012 at the Little White Wedding Chapel on Las Vegas Boulevard.
The pair later split up, and James started a relationship with Margret Dinsdale in 2014, before marrying her in 2017 at the Chapel of the Flowers – just 600m away from where he married his first wife.
James died of cancer in 2020 aged 55, leaving Margaret distraught.
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Margaret Dinsdale discovered her late husband was already married Credit: Champion News Service
James was a wealthy accountant and WWII history expert Credit: Supplied by Champion News
He was still married to first wife Victoria Fowell Credit: Supplied by Champion News
Dr Victoria Fowell outside London’s High Court Credit: Champion News Service
But in the wake of his death, she was shocked to find out that James had never actually divorced Victoria, meaning the pair were legally married.
Margaret only discovered James’ bigamy when she began sorting out his affairs on the assumption that she would inherit his fortune as his next of kin.
But with James still legally married to Victoria, Margaret’s marriage was made “void”, leaving her with no automatic right to the money.
Under intestacy laws, Victoria is heir to the £1.8m fortune, which James had built up an extensive property development business, based around London and Hertfordshire, before he died.
Because James had not made a will, his money was set to be divided after his death between Victoria and his son, William Dinsdale, 28, under intestacy rules.
But Margret’s discovery sparked a court fight between the two women.
Last July, Margaret’s legal rights as a “spouse” were formally recognised by a judge and she is now bringing a substantial claim to part of his wealth under the Inheritance Act.
But the dispute recently returned to London’s High Court, with Victoria stepping aside as estate executor as the women traded accusations of depleting the fortune James left behind.
Originally worth £1.8m, the court heard that his estate could now have a “negative” value.
Victoria’s barrister, Roxanne Reiner, said the true value of the 17 properties in the estate was in fact £1.2m – and most of them were in poor condition.
The barrister said: “It has since transpired that the property values were significantly inflated.
“Many properties were in extremely poor condition and some were occupied by squatters.”
Saying there may now be nothing left, she told the judge: “All properties have now been sold.
“After deductions of expenses and large drawings from both Ms Dinsdale and Dr Fowell, the balance of the estate is in practice negative.”
Victoria previously withdrew £367,000 from the estate, “believing to be entitled to this sum”, said her barrister.
She also told the judge that Margaret took £375,000 from estate assets – an allegation she denies.
But James Poole – barrister for Margaret – said that Victoria has already been hit with a court freezing order barring certain expenditure due to “dissipating the assets of the estate”.
The order was in part made to prevent Dr Fowell from “selling estate assets at an undervalue,” said Mr Poole, pointing out that a pub valued at £750,000 had been sold by Dr Fowell as executor for just £180,000.
With neither woman possessing any savings, they are each struggling to fund the dispute which has now been simmering for nearly a year.
Victoria has been forced to borrow from her parents to cover her legal fees.
Margaret’s barrister told the court that his client may also need to sue Victoria personally, as well as James’ estate, “to recover the monies that she has taken from the estate in order to make reasonable financial provision”.
The judge, Master James Brightwell, agreed that Victoria should be removed as executor, also making a £21,000 charging order against her home due to her failure to meet previous costs orders against her.
The full trial of Margaret’s bid for financial contribution from the estate is not due in court until next year.
