Birth doula’s inheritance row after being cut from husband’s £5m will

A birth doula is embroiled in a bitter inheritance battle after being cut out of her wealthy property investor husband’s £5million fortune over concerns she would leave for Brazil when he died.

Brazilian national Gabriela Teixeira, now 41, lived in a series of luxurious London properties with her investor husband Abbas Moaven between their wedding in 2002 and his death 10 years later aged 45.

The wealthy businessman divided his will between his wife and two children –  Elis Teixeira Moaven and Aryan Moaven, now 22 and 19 – and Ms Teixeira was expecting to inherit millions.

But just weeks before his death, Abbas signed legal documents declaring four properties – at the time worth over £3million – were actually shared with his mother and brother, Amir, now 55.

This slashed the amount of money Ms Teixeira was due to inherit, potentially leaving her penniless when accounting for debts.

She and her children are now fighting a High Court battle against her husband’s brother in a bid to restore the properties to her husband’s estate and allow them to inherit their full value of up to £5million.

Her barrister, Alexander Learmonth KC, says lawyers’ notes on the documents Abbas signed expressed fears Ms Teixeira might leave the UK with the children after he died, with Amir questioning how that could be prevented.

These comments confirm the deeds were a ‘sham’ and ‘entered into with the clear aim of defeating a claim by Gabriela and/or her children against the estate’, Mr Learmonth argued.

He told the judge that Gabriela is anxious to restore the properties to the estate and get her inheritance, adding: ‘She is unable to sustain the lifestyle she enjoyed during Abbas’ lifetime, while he was still well, on her income working as a doula.’

A doula is a non-clinical professional who provides physical and emotional support to families before, during and after childbirth, often attending actual births. 

Giving evidence, Ms Teixeira told judge, Deputy Master Timothy Bowles, that Abbas had never given any indication the flat was not entirely his property.

But Amir insists the declarations of trust were legitimate and the properties had always been owned in equal shares by the Moaven brothers and their mother Nazemi Tehran.

Barrister Lydia Pemberton, for Amir, described the row as a ‘very bitter family dispute,’ but insisted the declarations were ‘the written manifestation of the long-standing agreement’ that the properties were held by Abbas, Amir and their mother in equal shares.

‘No doubt the claimants are deeply disappointed that Abbas’ wealth and the estate is not what they expected but disappointment does not make a valid claim,’ she told the judge.

She added: ‘Shortly stated, Amir’s case is one of a pooling of resources between himself, Abbas and their mother, demonstrated by their years of joint business ventures.

‘Fundamentally, the claimants have no relevant knowledge and understanding as to ownership of the properties and the business arrangements between Abbas, Amir and Nazemi, let alone evidence sufficient to discharge the high evidential burden of proving sham or dishonesty.’

Abbas and Amir moved to the UK from Iran in 1982 to live with their father before opening a west London clothing shop called Homeboy.

They then moved into the thriving mobile phone market in the mid-1990s and later into restaurants, while also buying up a series of properties around the capital.

Abbas married Brazil-born Ms Teixeira in 2002 after meeting at one of his restaurants in Notting Hill in 2000.

They lived at high-end properties around some of the capital’s most desirable neighbourhoods, including Holland Park and Kensington.

Abbas was diagnosed with cancer in 2009 and died in May 2012

Mr Learmonth argues the documents in question were designed by Abbas to prevent his wife or creditors from making a claim to most of his assets after his death. 

He said an attendance note from a meeting between Abbas’s solicitor and Amir reveals Abbas was ‘seriously unwell’ at home and his brother was seeking to ‘regularise their affairs.’

The note stated: ‘His concern was what would happen if Abbas passed away and his wife disappeared with the two children to Brazil. 

‘How could they prevent this, and how could they prevent her from having access to the funds from the property assets?’

A subsequent note added: ‘Amir confirmed his main intention was to secure Abbas’s children’s welfare because he was certain that any assets passed over to Abbas’s wife would be dissipated.’

Mr Learmonth told the judge the notes ‘establish clearly that, if the declarations of trust were really intended to have any legal effect at all, then they were entered into with the clear aim of defeating a claim by Gabriela and/or her children against the estate.’

He continued: ‘Abbas never intended his various declarations of trust to effect any real change in legal relations or to divest himself of his beneficial interest.

‘He merely intended them to be used insofar as necessary to ward off claims by Gabriela, or potentially creditors. They are obviously shams.’

But Amir says Ms Teixeira’s allegations amount to an accusation her late husband had lied about not being sole owner of the properties in order to ‘defraud and/or control her’ from beyond the grave and she cannot prove that.

Amir claims that the four properties – which include Ms Teixeira’s former homes in Queen’s Gate, Holland Park and Brasenose House, Kensington, as well as a rental property in Maida Hill – were only put into Abbas’s name for ‘cultural reasons’ because he was the elder brother.

But Mr Learmonth said this argument was contradicted by other high-end properties being held in the younger brother Amir’s sole name.

He added: ‘Gabriela says that Abbas never once said or hinted to her that Amir had any interest in any of the properties, or acted in a way which suggested that he did, though they lived in three of them during their marriage.

‘Holland Park and Brasenose were both house-hunted by Gabriela and Abbas together, the former as a place for their growing family to live in and the latter as an investment, which they moved into subsequently.

‘This evidence is inconsistent with Amir and Nazemi having any involvement, let alone financial involvement, or there being a common intention that they have a beneficial interest.

‘The fact that – among so many pages of evidence, and after almost 14 years – Amir has produced nothing showing a financial contribution by Amir or Nazemi to any of the properties is telling.

‘It is deeply unsatisfactory that 14 years later, Gabriela and her two children – now grown to from infancy to adulthood – have still not been able to obtain a proper account of Abbas’ estate, let alone to receive their inheritance.’

The court heard that Abbas and Amir’s mother died in 2023. Her will leaves half of her estate to Amir and a quarter each to Elis and Aryan.

Following a week long trial, Deputy Master Bowles reserved his decision on the case until a later date.