A detailed analysis of the couple’s finances between 2016 and 2020 revealed that Mr Morfey “contributed almost £18,000 more than Karen during this period”.

The court heard that in his witness statement, Mr Morfey claimed both of Mrs Morfey’s children “lost interest in her” after she changed her will in their favor in 2014.

But their lawyer, Hazel Hobbs, said: “We can see from emails and texts from her daughter that she played an active role in her care and Alex regularly went to take her out for lunch.”

Ms Hobbs went on to claim Mr Morfey “misappropriated” tens of thousands from his wife’s account – or from their joint accounts – while she was alive.

She added that as Karen became increasingly frail from 2020 onwards, it was unclear what her husband was doing with her money.

The brothers “questioned” several transactions totaling £144,044, claiming that Mrs Morfey either “lacked the mental capacity” to approve them or that her husband “procured the transactions through undue influence”.

Mr Morfey’s lawyer disputed that claim, arguing it was based on a misunderstanding of how the couple managed their accounts.

“Angry and worried”

However, Ms Hobbs claimed Mr Morfey’s financial meddling dates back to 2013, when he “apparently” instructed a financial planning firm to “draw up a will for Karen, leaving her her fortune”.

Ms Morfey was said to be so “angry and worried” about the terms of this will and a related trust that she left home for a short time before drawing up what became her final will in August 2014, leaving and her children’s home. .

“Mr Morfey, subject to court orders, set up a trust in relation to Karen’s assets for his own benefit and made a will, again for his own benefit, apparently without Karen’s knowledge,” Ms Hobbs said.

“In an email dated July 20, 2014, Karen expressed her concern that a will had been drawn up without her being there.

“Furthermore, Karen was so troubled by the trust and the new will, which was contrary to her express wishes, that she stayed with her brother and wrote a handwritten will to ensure her wishes were carried out. “

Since 2017, Mrs Morfey has been “incredibly vulnerable” because of her dementia, Mrs Hobbs said, meaning her husband had a special responsibility to manage his affairs conscientiously.

Ms Hobbs said Mr Morfey already had “significant resources in both capital and liquid assets” in relation to the financial needs claim and said he owned a £550,000 rental property in Sherwood Avenue, Streatham, nearby.

“He is in very good health and still engages in parkruns and other physical activities. His evidence and that of his witnesses is that he has always lived a modest lifestyle,” she told the court.

“Her daughter rarely called”

Mr Morfey, who denies all allegations, accepted that the children took an interest in their mother but said: “When Karen was diagnosed I thought she should have realized that she had to keep a bit more much connection.

“In the years leading up to her diagnosis, her daughter rarely called her and Karen often said she was concerned that there was very little contact between her daughter and herself.”

Mr Morfey said public relations director Alexander Davies made more of an effort to support his mother but claimed he had to rally both sisters during a pub meeting in 2020 when he told them that he has to “step up” and support his mother.

In his closing arguments to the court, Mr Morfey’s lawyer stressed that his client “cared for Karen very diligently during her illness”.

He considered the funds in both accounts to be “marital funds,” Mr. Soar said, adding: “He was doing what he thought was best for both of us.”

The judge reserved his decision on the case for a later date.