If the first sentence of a judgment reads "This is an unusual probate claim in that the deceased says she is very much alive."

[Another2Cats]

If a judgment starts with something like "This is an unusual probate claim in that the deceased says she is very much alive." Then it could turn interesing.

From the case of Ashimola & Anor v Samuel & Anor [2025] EWHC 502 (Ch)

There is a lot going on in this case and it was a really interesting read.

Basically, a woman bought a house in London in 2003 and then returned home to Nigeria at some point.

Then in 2019 somebody popped up in London saying that they were the husband of this woman and that she had died intestate in Nigeria.

So he would like the London house, thank you very much.

The woman then appeared via a video link in court from Nigeria and the other side tried to claim that this was a different person and there were lots of fake documents produced as well.

In the end, the judge decided that she really was the person she said that she was and that the man who was alleged to have married her never actually existed (or that his identity had been stolen).

Quite an unusual story.

https://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Ch/2025/502.html

Oh wow what an opener! Need to read properly when I'm less tired.

I imagine that that must have been a very satisfying opening sentence to write!

Are you a bailii nerd as well? I spend most of my bailii time hanging out in the Court of Protection Judgements.

Don't know about this case but a year or so ago I read about a woman who was declared dead by her husband and who was having the devil of a job proving to the state that she was still alive.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jan/12/french-woman-spends-three-years-trying-to-prove-she-is-not-dead?CMP=ShareiOSAppp_Other

I do browse the page which gives the recent judgments from time to time.