Christmas lunch for one of Victoria’s richest families will be seasoned with bitterness this year after a messy dispute between a mother and daughter over the family home.
Toorak millionaire Celia Burrell first took her mother Janice Shelmerdine to court in July, claiming she had tried to sell the $11 million clifftop estate in Portsea despite promising it to her.
The property on Melbourne‘s Mornington Peninsula looks out over Shelly Beach and boasts a main house, a three-level ‘bungalow’, grass tennis court and the use of a boat shed.
Celia Burrell (right, with husband Will and her eldest daughter) is engaged in a bitter feud with her mother over the use of a kitchen in a $11 million mansion on Christmas Day
Justice Steven Moore granted Mrs Burrell’s request and ruled she will be allowed to use the main house for food preparation only (pictured are the views from the $11million home)
While it is not unusual for families to squabble over the estates of their dead parents, Mrs Shelmerdine is very much alive.
Now aged 84, the elderly widow has been forced to face-off with her eldest daughter over a supposed promise she made in her will to allow Mrs Burrell to buy out her other kids’ share of the home upon her death.
So when Mrs Burrell noticed the house – named ‘Positano’ – had been put up for sale, she saw her inheritance about to go up in smoke.
It is a family tragedy that can be traced back to 2004 when Mrs Burrell forked out big bucks to renovate the bungalow into a dwelling fit for millionaire tenants.
Mrs Burrell claimed her mother told her she could do with it as she pleased as long as she paid for it.
The Burrell family had been using it as a holiday home for decades.
Mrs Burrell claimed her mother told her she held a one third expectancy interest in Positano and could buy out her two siblings’ share at market value and own Positano outright.
In a statement of claim lodged with the Supreme Court of Victoria, Mrs Burrell stated that in 2008 she agreed to buy out her brother’s share in Positano for $4.5 million so that he could buy a property.
At the same time, she claimed her mum said she could buy out her other brother’s share in the Portsea mansion, thus handing her ownership of the property before Mrs Shelmerdine was even dead.
The agreement was allegedly made over several meetings which included accountants and lawyers for all parties involved.
The deed was done, Mrs Burrell claimed.
Ms Burrell, who owns the famed El Questro resort with her husband Will, first took her family matriarch to court after learning she had tried to sell the waterfront Portsea home
The astute daughter immediately lodged several caveats over the property, which would allow her to intervene should her mother ever try to sell it under her nose.
Fast forward to 2012 and Mrs Burrell’s other brother, Edward, decided he also wanted his cash in advance on the Positano property.
In or around October 2017, the siblings agreed that Mrs Burrell would buy her brother’s one third expectancy in Positano for one third of its market valuation.
By then, the value for Positano was estimated at between $10-$12 million.
It was about the same time Mrs Burrell claims Edward ‘s relationship with their mother broke down after a squabble about the buy out.
The following year, Mrs Burrell claims her mother agreed to sell the remaining share of the home for $3,666,667.
The agreement was allegedly signed and sealed, with a provision allowing Mrs Shelmerdine to remain living at Positano for the remainder of her life.
Mrs Burrell claims her mum not only broke the deal, but in May this year went a step further and tried to lock her out of the property altogether.
She also planned to sell it off.
Rob Curtain, from Sotheby’s, posted on Instagram that month: ‘We are honoured and very exited [sic] to have been asked to handle one of the finest Portsea properties to be offered for sale this century. Details to come.’
Mrs Burrell unleashed the lawyers and her mum allegedly changed all the locks in the mansion, but one.
When Mrs Burrell entered the open door, she found a copy of the book The Good Daughter’s Guide.
The matter is now being fought out in the Supreme Court of Victoria where the messy feud has become downright ugly.
Last Friday, an application was heard over whether the mother or daughter should have access to the main house – with the kitchen a key focus – on Christmas Day.
Mrs Burrell wanted access to the main kitchen to cook for her large family because the mansion’s separate multi-level bungalow lacked a ‘proper kitchen’.
Shelly Beach (pictured above) is a key attraction for many visitors to Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula (stock image)
Mrs Burrell and her husband Will are the owners of the famed El Questro Resort in the Kimberley region of Western Australia
Additionally, she requested access to the main house bedrooms and bathroom.
Mrs Shelmerdine said she ‘doesn’t want’ her daughter in the main house on December 25 – but will allow her to use bungalow.
The widowed family matriarch recently bought a $2 million home in the area, and according to Mrs Burrell’s affidavit, no longer lives in the Portsea home.
‘At the bungalow I have one small microwave, one small plug-in electric hotplate/cooker, one small plug-in oven (approximately 30cm and only big enough to heat a pie) and one outdoor BBQ,’ Mrs Burrell said in an affidavit.
Mrs Shelmerdine’s lawyer, Jack Rush QC, told the court it’s not hard to determine there has been an ‘absolute breakdown’ in the relationship between the mother and daughter over the course of the past year.
‘For the daughter to say she intends to use the bedrooms in the house and the kitchen “as my own”, we say is close to preposterous in the circumstances,’ he said.
He added that people should not be expected ‘to share’ the same house and facilities after such a breakdown, and claimed his client planned to use the property over summer.
But Justice Steven Moore granted Mrs Burrell’s request and ruled she will be allowed to use the main house for food preparation only, between the hours of 7am to 10pm daily until February 26 next year.
Justice Moore did not grant Mrs Burrell access to the toilet in the main house.
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