The £800m hotel boss being sued by his father
Son accused of abandoning him and not following Sikh Culture!
This is an interesting one . Is the father being unreasonable ? I personally think so!
Jasminder, 62, head of the Radisson Blu Edwardian hotels empire, is being sued by his father who accuses him of abandoning the Sikh tradition of sharing family property by excluding him from the business.
Amazingly, the men and their wives still share a home together near Ascot racecourse in Berkshire.
Mr Singh Snr arrived in Britain from East Africa 40 years ago and started out running a Post Office in North London.
His son helped in the business and after he qualified as an accountant they moved into hotels, buying a rundown B&B in Kensington, West London, which they refurbished and sold on at a profit.
They gradually traded up and bought a string of upmarket hotels, including the Vanderbilt and the Savoy Court in central London.
But Mr Singh Snr claims that in 2010, his son forced him to retire, and has failed to follow the ‘Mitakshara’ system, from the Sikh and Hindu traditions, which implies a sharing of family wealth.
The system is not part of English law, but his lawyers argue that all family members chose to work under it and had therefore joined a ‘common intention constructive trust’.
Bal Mohinder Singh and his son went into business together and bought a string of upmarket hotels
Mr Singh Snr said he was ‘devastated’ by his son’s behaviour.
He added: ‘As the head of the family, I have to be respected and the fact that I was forced to retire by Jasminder was very, very painful for me. Since then my health has failed. My wife is unwell too. When I travel to the High Court I will be in an ambulance and it will be very difficult and stressful to have to give evidence against Jasminder.
‘I still love him. I always will. I will not hear anybody say a bad word against him ... He has worked hard too. But as I said, this is about respect and carrying on the traditions in which I have brought Jasminder up.’
He has also accused his son of trying to force him and his mother out of the family home, the seven- bedroom Tetworth Hall where Jasminder also lives with his wife Amrit and their four children.
It is understood that Jasminder Singh claims that he did not have a particularly religious upbringing, that neither of his parents regarded the family to be living under an agreement to share property nor was there any such agreement, and that he played the leading part in building up the family business.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2509011/The-800m-hotel-boss-sued-father.html#ixzz2kyNu5ONK
mohdata. In Family Business irrespect of the cultural back grounds there are always going to be issues.
Godfather: while your tone is decidedly unpleasant, I do agree with the gist of your message. This is happening in many an immigrant household all over the west. Parents come to earn a livelihood (with their strong cultural beliefs in tow), kids grow up in a foreign culture and adopt it (only natural and nothing wrong with that too)..and soon the tug of war starts..so yes, think long and hard before you decide to set up shop in a foreign land i guess..but can't solely vilify joint families to make your point:-)
Evils of the extended family? Follow the law of the Land not the law of your forefathers when living in the west.
He should have fought to remain in business when his son tried to force him out and succeeded. Bottomline is never give up control on your money and property under any kind of emotional surge to your children cos once they have control, the emotions get replaced by law books.
mohdata: Well said. May he live a long life.
not my place to judge this case; but I do feel one's parents deserve the highest honour. The world saw my dad work the entire GCC, climb the career ladder and become a well known banking pro, who even now, post retirement, is hounded by recruiters with lucrative offers. But i saw a rebellious, chain smoking, caffeine addicted, diabetic, heart patient who awoke each day for 40 years to give his kids all that he never had. And today, as an adult, I swell with pride to say I belong to my father (now a weak, tired and grumpy old man) and his wish is my command. Love you dad:-)
Theres no such tradition.There are just the normal legal avenues of sharing property,as there are in every country.As in a will.