The siblings of a millionaire British tycoon who made money from healthy drinks won the suffering of bringing a Malta partner to a 18 million estate in court. Alan Lorenz, a former London divorce lawyer, gave up his legal career in the 1980s and joined the weight loss brand Herbalife, who died in 2021 at the age of 78, leaving all his wealth to his young partner Sheila Caruana. But his brother and sister Robert Lorenz, 81, Anthony Lorenz, 77, and Vanessa Manasseh, 79, insisted that he had assured them part of the fortune and had now successfully appealed, reinstateing the claim after the High Court was abandoned.
The Court of Appeal ruled that the road to a full trial was cleared, and the siblings would argue that Allen established a “secret trust” shortly before his death, asking Sheila to be “correctly” by her family and separate her wealth from them, which she now denies. Charter-educated Mr. Lorenz built an empire through Herbalife, a controversial American-created direct sales giant known for nutritional shakes. He joined the company in 1984 and quickly climbed to become a senior member. When Lorenz died, Lorenz accumulated a huge 18 million estate, including 4 million Mayfair townhouses, luxury 3.5 million villas in Malta, 8.8 million cash and 2.1 million Herbalife-related assets. He began his relationship with Sheila, 59, but due to the 23-year-old age gap between them, the court heard that Mr. Lorentz was increasingly concerned about tax plans in his later years. Although the earlier will left part of his siblings, in 2020 he drew a new one and left everything to Sheila. The couple then started a civil partnership shortly before his death, meaning she was not responsible for his estate taxes. Robert, with the support of his siblings, made a request to the court that they said Alan “had a positive tax avoidance history, in fact, a hatred of paying taxes” had been signed with the civil partnership and was only part of the shelter of his wealth, with his understanding being revised only in terms of his wealth, and later passed on Sheila to his family. They told the judge that he assured them that this would happen and that he thought Sheila was “100% glorious” and would follow his will. Robert said: “Allen had a long-standing intention to benefit his siblings. According to reports, a lawyer at the time said Sheila would “tidy up his family in due time”, and Allen personally told each of his siblings that that was the plan. However, Sheila denied any of this understanding, saying: “He never said that I would have any restrictions on the use of assets.” Nor did he give me instructions to deal with the assets he left behind in a special way. “The case was first brought to court in December 2023, when the judge refused Sheila’s request for Robert to file a claim. But last June, Judge Joanna Smith was dismissed in the High Court, who ruled that there was no realistic opportunity to prove that there was a trust or determine the property it covered. She described the siblings’ claims as “just say that something could be there in the trial.” “But last week, Lord Zacharoli overturned the decision, ruling sufficient for a full trial and allowing the siblings to take place. He noted that the only evidence for Sheila so far was her statement that Allen did not give her any specific instructions on her wealth. He continued: “There is no disclosure from Sheila, there is scope for further information requests, and the author will likely have evidence of attendance notes.” “If Sheila chooses not to provide further evidence on her own, then – while not underestimating the obstacles that Robert needs to overcome in the trial, it may be possible to make inferences from the obstacles she failed to do. “If she does provide evidence, then there will be substances in the simultaneous documents that can actually form the basis for cross-examination.” He said there is a “real potential client” and the evidence at the trial may “fill the gap” in the case to understand which property the so-called trust is dealing with and who the beneficiaries are. “The only person who can speak to Allen is Sheila, who has at least potential contradictions between her current witness statement and the documents of the contemporary period, to see if her instructions are given completely. He overturned Robert’s decision to consent with Justice Cobb and Lord Stuart-Smith. The case will now be held in a full High Court trial unless resolved in advance. Postal siblings and 18 million healthy sister drinking tycoon won a part of his battle with his Malta lover, a portion of his wealth appeared on the Linda Ikeji blog.
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Brothers and sisters £18m healthy drink tycoon wins part of the fight against Malta lover
