By GB News (World News) | Created at 2025-03-13 00:02:59 | Updated at 2025-03-14 09:30:54
1 day ago
The family of an 82-year-old "recluse" are locked in a legal battle over his £650,000 London home which he gifted to a Ukrainian waitress before his death.
Richard Joy signed over his property to Mariia Romanyshyn, 38, in 2016 - two years before he died.
His cousin Martin Larney is now suing Romanyshyn, claiming Joy lacked the mental capacity to make such a decision.
Joy, who died in May 2018, spent his entire life in the family home in Hillside Gardens, Harrow, northwest London.
He never married or had children and was described by his family as "a bit of a recluse".
Richard Joy's family are locked in a legal battle at Central London County Court (pictured)
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Romanyshyn first met Joy in 2011 while working at The Upper Crust cafe in Harrow - which has since closed down
In spring 2016, Joy "thrust" the deeds of his property into Romanyshyn's hands, telling her: "The house is yours. I want you to keep the house."
After Joy's death in 2018, it emerged he had signed a document gifting the property to her.
Larney, as executor of Joy's estate, is now fighting to overturn this gift so the house can be included in the 2011 will.
Larney's barrister Andrew Nicklin told Central London County Court that Joy was "vulnerable with apparent cognitive impairment" and "dependent" on Romanyshyn.
By 2016, the Romanyshyn family occupied "the majority of the home" while Joy lived in one room, Nicklin claimed.
He added that Mrs Romanyshyn had become Joy's attorney "in control of his bank account and finances".
Mrs Romanyshyn, now a trainee beautician, insists Joy knew exactly what he was doing when he gifted her the house.
She told the court he was mentally sharp enough to follow the complex storylines of Benedict Cumberbatch's "Sherlock" series.
Joy also played chess with her daughter, to whom he became a "grandfather figure".
"He received and felt the care, love and affection from me and my family," she said.
Her barrister Lynne Counsell noted that Joy's GP records showed no signs of dementia, and he could "successfully navigate trips away from home".
Romanyshyn still organises a Christmas remembrance service for Joy and visits his grave with flowers.
Judge Simon Monty KC is expected to deliver his ruling on the case at a later date.
