LOST FORTUNE

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 3, Issue 603, 7 August 1933, Page 7

LOST FORTUNE

BANKRUPT'S POSITION INHERITOR OF £35,000 NOW WORKING- AS CASUAL LABOURER. - EXPENSIVE HONEYMOON. How a young man lost an inheritance' of £35,000 was related in the Bankruptcy .Court in Melbourne recently. The bankrupt was John Desmond Topp, of Malvern, wbo said that he was now working as a casual labourere in a. wool store of which he had once been part owner. The examination was held before the deputy-r.egis-trar in bankruptcy (Mr. T. H. Ke,aney). The report of the official receiver, Mr. W. H. Loughrey, stated fhat Topp's estate was sequestered in October last on the petition of a creditor, the liabilities heing given at £3406 13s. There were .no asests. In 1924 Topp became entitled to an inheritance of £35,000 from tbe estate of his grandfather, Mr. John Goodall. Topp had said that most of his liabilities were incurred in expectation of receipt of income from the settlement, which, however, had fallen considerably and left him without means to pay. In the course of his examination, Topp said that he went to the war in 1915, and on his return he worked as a jackeroo on stations. He learned of his inheritance in 1924, when he was aged 26 years, and he married in the following year. He went with his wife on a honeymoon trip to England ■and spent nearly £4000. He was away from Australia for 12 months, and when he returned he bought a property of 2200 acres at Nagambie for about £14,500. He thougbt that he paid too much for the property.

The Grandfather's Will. The bankrupt said that his grandfather's will had stipulated that when he reached the age of 21 years anduntil he was aged 26 years he should receive an income of £10 a week from the estate. The will provided that he should receive his inheritance when he attained the age of 26 years. He had previously got into financial difficulties, and on the advice of a solicitor he had drawn up a trust deed to proteet his interest in his grandfather's estate. He was to receive only the income from the estate until he was aged 40 years. Later, Topp said, he revoked that provision, so that he might obtain £6000 from the trustee company to enter into a partnership dn a woolbroking business. He did not know the original trust deed had been revoked in that way. The trustee company gave him £3500 from the corpus of the estate for a deposit on the Nagambie property, which was for grazing. After having worked the property for three years, Topp said he sold it for the price that he had paid for it, but the purehaser did not go on with the deal and forfeited a deposit of £2000. The property then hecame part of the corpus of his inheritance. When he bought the property at Nagambie wool was worth 2s 6d. a lb. He paid £6 10s an acre for the land, but now it was probably not worth more than £4 an acre. The Official Receiver: Were you expenses heavy ? Topp: Perhaps my expenses were not entirely justified. I think that I lived rather extravagantly. Unpleasant Story. In 1929, Topp continued, he invested £2500 in a woolbroking business with Mr. Fraser, who contributed £3000. Fraser drew £7 a week from the business; Topp received no salary. They lost everything through the collapse of the wool market. He also invested £6000 in a property in Riverina. "It is a long and unpleasant story," Topp said. "At Melbourne Grammar School I was very friendly with Ronald McCallum, and we went t0 the war together. I had no parents and went ■to live with the McCallums. Ronald iand I went for a trip to England together. Ronald told me that his hrothers wanted to buy a property at Narrandera, New South Wales and he asked me to help them. I agreed to contribute £3000. The property was Eubalong Station. Subsequently Ronald told me that more money was wanted, and I agreed to inerease my contribution to £6000. Two of the McCallum brothers were to put in £2000 each and a brother-in-law was to invest a similar amount. I was to have a half -interest in the station. The 'Official Receiver: How did the venture turn out? Topp: I have had difficulty in getting particulars about it. I was given ,an unstamped receipt for £6000, and I understand that it was not worth the paper that it was written on. The McCallums sold the property but the purehaser fell behind in his payments and then gave them another property in return. I have written to the McCallums, but I have not received a reply. Lesson of Experience. "If I had had the experience which I have had since I would have been more careful with my money, Topp replied to other questions. "It was not my intention to tie up my estate •so that I would not have had to pay my dehts. The trustees say that I have lost all my interest in the estate, and that the income from it will now he paid to my wife. There is £3600, which I think, should he used for the benefit of creditors. I would he quite Willing to pay that, even if I had to assign my interest. The object of tynig up my inheritance was to proteet it from myself. That was the advice given me by a solicitor. The Official Receiver: What are you doing now ? _ Top: I am working as a casual h'and, but I hope to get full-time work in a week or two. The wage is £3 3s 9d a week.