Psychic poet left 'penniless' after losing court fight over father's £450k will

A TV psychic claims he is "penniless" after losing an inheritance battle against his younger sister and niece and being ordered to pay the £220,000 court bill.

Gary Pammen, also known as Gary Allen or "The Cockney Bard", is an author, poet, and philosopher who has appeared on the BBC, Sky, and ITV and believes he has powers of healing and second sight.

Gary's father, Terrance Pammen, died aged 83 in May 2022, leaving an estate valued at £451,840. This largely comprised his £440,000 house in Church Street, Stratford, East London.

But despite having five children, Terrance left the house and all his remaining cash to his daughter, Tracy Pammen and granddaughter, Paige Pammen.

Gary later sued, challenging the validity of Terrance’s 2016 will, claiming his father lacked the necessary “testamentary capacity” and did not “know and approve” its contents as he was too mentally frail when it was drawn up.

In June this year, Judge Simon Monty upheld the will, handing everything to Tracy and Paige, and ordered the TV clairvoyant to pay £216,000 in costs.

This week, Gary went to London's High Court seeking to overturn that decision on appeal, arguing he had been the victim of a "great miscarriage of justice".

But he lost a second time, with the costs of the appeal now taking his court bill above £220,000.

Describing himself as "penniless" and "poor", the clairvoyant poet offered to pay his debt at a rate of "a pound a week" and told the judge: "I didn't need a crystal ball to work out what would happen today."

The Plaistow-born poet, representing himself against his sister and niece during the trial, told Central London County Court the 2016 will had “completely disinherited” Terrance’s children and grandchildren - apart from Tracy and Paige - beyond the gift of “a few worthless chattels”.

Excluded from everything of monetary value in the will alongside Gary were his other siblings, Mark, Jacqueline and Gemma, none of whom were parties in the litigation.

Gary, 65, who now lives in Norfolk, said he spoke to his dad every day by phone, adding outside court that he loved his father and always got on with him, and that there was no clear reason for him to be disinherited.

In his claim to the court, he insisted Terrance lacked a sound mind when the will was signed, alleging that it was drawn up “when the deceased was suffering from documented cognitive and progressive impairment, alongside profound confusion regarding his family relations and the extent of his estate”.

He also claimed Tracy “raided” their dad’s bank accounts in his final years, an allegation which she and her lawyers dismissed as nonsense.

Defending the will, Tracy and Paige said independent-minded Terrance was “totally sharp” when he drew up the will and had firm views about how he wanted to leave his estate.

Tracy pointed out that her father was still working sorting out shopping trolleys at Morrisons when he made his will, and carried on doing so for up to three years afterwards.

Her barrister, Tom Gosling, said there were “no real doubts” about Terrance’s ability to grasp what he was doing when he initiated the will-drafting process in 2016 with no involvement from any family member, with expert evidence from a psychiatrist confirming he was of sound mind.

And while accepting that Terrance was ultimately diagnosed with dementia in 2020, he displayed no signs of a failing memory until 2017 or 2018, said Mr Gosling.

Questioned by Gary about why Terrance would have cut out four of his children as well as a vulnerable grandson, Paige replied: “He knew that he would be cared for by us; that’s why he left all this to me and my mother because he knew we would be responsible for him.”

Finding in favour of Tracy and Paige, Judge Monty said it was "crystal clear" that Terrance had testamentary capacity when he made his will.

"I regret to say that Gary’s case to the contrary, and this entire claim, is based upon no more than suspicion borne out of a family disagreement with Tracy – the details of which I have not been told – around about the time of his mother’s death," he said.

"Gary is simply unable to accept that his father did not leave him, his sister Jackie or his brother Mark anything, and he now sees everything as confirming that his father did not understand what was going on."

Challenging the ruling this week, Gary accused the county court judge of "perverse fact finding and lack of evidence".

But giving judgment in the High Court on Gary's appeal bid, Mr Justice Twigger said: "It's plain that Gary feels there has been a great miscarriage of justice and I'm sure that is his genuine belief.

"[But] there is no basis on which any of the findings can be described as unreasonable or irrational."

The judge said Gary had rejected two offers to settle the case before trial, explaining the decision by saying they were made before he had all the evidence.

"None of the grounds of appeal has any prospect of application, and I dismiss this application for permission to appeal," he concluded.

He also dismissed a bid by Gary to delay the sale of his dad's house.

Speaking in court to the judge after his decision, Gary said: "The case is very meritorious. We were robbed blind.

"People will be held to account for what they have done. Truth and justice is coming for everybody in this country. By next year, Lady Justice won't be blind.

"I didn't need a crystal ball to work out what would happen today. It's not a shock; I fully expected it.

"We are on income support – do they want a pound a week?

"We are poor. Our father left us without anything. We are penniless.

"We are thousands of pounds in debt. I don't know what they hope to get out of us. If they are happy to get a couple of pounds a week, that's fine by me."

The judge ordered an extra £5,000 for the appeal to be added to the costs bill, taking it above £220,000 before detailed assessment.