Ex-head girl who forged old headmistress’ will in bid to claim £4.2m inheritance loses legal battle with family

A former private school head girl who forged her ex-headmistress’ will in an attempt to claim a £4.2 million estate has lost her High Court battle and faces a £200,000 court bill.

Leigh Voysey, 45, was found guilty of fraud and forgery charges in October after fabricating a will that would have left her the entire estate of Maureen Renny – including a £2.25 million seven-bedroom property.

Renny, who died in January 2020 aged 82, had been Voysey’s headteacher at The Barn School in Much Hadham, Hertfordshire.

The court ruled that an earlier will from 2016, which favoured Renny’s relatives, was the genuine document.

Master Karen Shuman dismissed Voysey’s “elaborate story” of reconnecting with her former mentor as “false”.

Voysey had attended The Barn School from the age of eight, where she claimed Renny had “always favoured her”.

She told the court that her former headteacher had given her the best parts in class plays and appointed her as head girl and prefect.

The mother-of-one claimed she had reconnected with Renny by chance in 2016 while working as a carer.

“Mrs Renny remembered exactly who I was, even though it was 25 years since I’d left her school,” Voysey had told the court.

She described making regular visits to her former teacher three to four times a year, sharing tea and reminiscing about school days.

However, the court heard that Voysey had only worked one shift as Renny’s carer and never visited her again.

According to court documents, Voysey claimed Renny had asked her to write a new will in September 2019.

She alleged the elderly educator wanted to prevent her beloved former school building from being sold to developers by her blood relatives.

The fabricated will was reportedly written in Voysey’s handwriting and witnessed by two of her friends, who were unknown to Renny.

The court heard that the headmistress suffered a stroke in July 2019 and had become “delusional” as her health declined.

The 2019 will was described by Shuman as “something taken from the internet or bought from a shop”.

Renny’s family successfully challenged the document, maintaining that a 2016 will benefiting her cousins and stepchildren was the valid testament.

In her High Court ruling, Shuman granted probate in “solemn form” of the 2016 will, confirming its validity and Renny’s capacity to make it.

The judge noted that Voysey’s criminal conviction for forging the will was admissible as evidence in the civil proceedings.

“You have put up a forged will as being a true will. Something is out of the norm when a forged will is used to mount a claim in court,” Shuman told Voysey via videolink.

The 2016 will benefits Renny’s cousins Gillian Ayre, Angela Eastwood and Susan Vickers, along with her stepson’s children, Thomas and Katherine Renny.

The judge struck out Voysey’s claim, stating it was “based on a false premise that the 2019 will was a valid will, when it wasn’t.”

Voysey now faces legal costs of approximately £197,000, with half required to be paid upfront, though the exact figure will be determined at a later date.

She is currently awaiting sentencing for her criminal convictions of fraud and forgery.

Hill House, which until 1998 housed The Barn School, was sold to developers Hill Residential in March 2021 for £2.25 million.

The property was subsequently divided, with the house itself being sold separately for £975,000 in January 2022.

Hill Residential has announced plans to build 30 new homes and a “large public park” on the acquired land.