Reports that former West Ham chairman David Gold left NO will has been disputed by a senior club official.
A report in the Daily Mail which went largely unnoticed by the West Ham community claimed “West Ham co-chairman David Gold failed to write a will for his £130m fortune before he died from a short illness in January aged 86. Court documents show the entrepreneur, who owed much of his wealth to soft porn and lingerie, died ‘intestate’, meaning no ‘valid will’ was created before his passing. According to a High Court document, David’s daughter Vanessa Julia Young has been named administrator of his estate, which has a ‘net value of £125m”
The claims have since been repeated including in a recent legal blog by Edwin Coe on the dangers of not leaving a will.
senior club source speaking to Claret and Hugh disputes these claims by stating “That’s NOT true. The Gold family assure me there was a will, it is just going through probate as everything has to be valued”
The probate issue has been made more complicated after David’s eldest daughter Jaqueline after losing her battle with breast cancer died so her estate inherited a large of father’s which now is also in probate.
Probate takes around a year on average to resolve but there are no immediate plans by the family to sell their shareholding in West Ham.
Once resolved – should Vaness decide to sell – David Sullivan has first option on the shares ahead of Daniel Kretinsky.