London doula Gabriela Teixeira wins £5m inheritance battle after court exposes late husband Abbas Moaven’s property ‘sham’

A High Court judge has ruled in favour of Gabriela Teixeira, the widow of late London property investor and restaurateur Abbas Moaven, in a dispute over his multimillion-pound estate. The case centred on four properties in west London that were said to form the core of his wealth, with lawyers estimating the estate could be worth up to £5 million if the properties were included.

Teixeira, who works as a birth doula and yoga teacher, married Moaven in 2002 after meeting him at one of his Notting Hill restaurants. The couple had two children and lived a comfortable life in areas including Kensington and Holland Park. After Moaven died of cancer in May 2012 at the age of 45, Teixeira discovered that legal documents he signed shortly before his death could drastically reduce the value of the estate she and the children expected to inherit.

Weeks before he died, while seriously ill in hospital, Moaven signed declarations of trust stating that the four properties were not solely his but were owned in shares by him, his brother Amir Moaven, and their mother. If those documents had stood, the estate could have been left with little or no value because of debts. Teixeira and her children, Elis and Aryan, challenged the arrangement in the High Court, arguing that the documents were a sham designed to keep the widow from accessing the family wealth.

The judge, Deputy Master Timothy Bowles, agreed. He ruled that the trust documents were fictitious and had no real legal effect. In his judgment, he said the papers were created to present Abbas Moaven’s estate as much smaller than it actually was and to prevent his widow from claiming the full value of the properties. He found that the properties belonged to Abbas alone in both legal and beneficial terms and must therefore fall into his estate.

The disputed properties included former family homes in Queen’s Gate, Holland Park and Brasenose House in Kensington, as well as a rental property in Maida Hill. Amir Moaven had argued that the homes had been held in shared ownership for cultural reasons and reflected a long-standing family arrangement involving pooled resources and joint business ventures. He said the documents simply recorded that understanding.

The court rejected that explanation. Teixeira’s lawyers pointed to notes from meetings involving Abbas Moaven’s solicitor and Amir, which suggested concern that Teixeira might leave for Brazil with the children and take control of the assets. The judge said those records supported the conclusion that the declarations of trust were intended to defeat claims by Teixeira and possibly creditors.

Moaven’s will left his estate in thirds to his widow and two children, although the children’s shares would only be paid once they reached a designated age. A further hearing on Teixeira’s claim to increase her inheritance is expected later. The exact value of the estate remains unresolved because of tax and debt issues, but the ruling means the full value of the properties can now be treated as part of the inheritance.