Ex-Nurse Ordered to Return $550,000 from Will of 92-Year-Old Care Home Patient She Knew for Just 24 Days

A former nurse has been ordered to hand over half a million dollars she inherited from a 92-year-old patient to his family in Australia, according to multiple reports. 

Abha Anuradha Kumar has been ordered by the Australian Supreme Court to return $800,000 of remaining inheritance from a grant of probate she received from her late patient Lionel Cox, 92, after knowing him for less than a month, per the Sydney Morning Herald, Daily Mail and The Age.

On Nov. 21, Judge Melissa Daly revoked Kumar’s grant to manage the estate and sale proceeds of Cox’s home in Victoria after claims made by a lawyer of Cox’s cousin that his will stating Kumar’s inheritance was made under “the most suspicious circumstances imaginable,” per the Daily Mail. 

Kumar met Cox on July 3, 2015, when she worked as a manager at Cambridge House, a care facility for the elderly, in Collingwood, according to a case and review document from the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia, which was published in 2019. 

The ex-nurse found out within three days of Cox’s arrival at the home that he owned a property and hadn’t created a will as he had no known immediate family. Kumar obtained a will kit and convinced two staff members to witness Cox writing the will, per SMH, Daily Mail and The Age.

Kumar reportedly did not mention that she was the executor and the sole beneficiary, per the Daily Mail

Cox died of pneumonia on Aug. 9, 2015, according to the outlet. 

Kumar was not working on the day of his death and called a junior staffer at Cambridge House following the news to search for his house key before his body was removed from the home, per SMH.

She was subsequently listed as the informant on Cox’s death certificate and given the grant of probate, according to the outlet. 

The court’s decision to revoke Kumar’s inheritance comes after she received a “summons for revocation” by the Supreme Court launched by State Trustees in August 2021. They claimed that Cox’s will was not created to align with his wishes, per SMH. 

In 2019, Kumar was banned from working as a registered health practitioner over allegations of professional misconduct following an investigation conducted by the Nursing and Midwifery Board, per Sydney Morning Herald.

The original value of Cox’s estate inherited by Kumar was over $1 million, however, this decreased after she used the money to fund administrative fees and legal costs, including $150,000 for the 2019 hearing, according to reports.

“Ms. Kumar transgressed the boundaries that should and ordinarily do exist between a registered nurse and her patient in that she was over-involved in the affairs of Mr. Lionel Cox,” the Nursing and Midwifery Board stated in their review.

Cox’s cousin Geoffrey’s lawyer, James Dimond, said of the latest court decision, “It’s an important reminder that the law can and will catch up with you eventually. This is a rare situation involving a medical professional, but elderly and vulnerable people are separated from their assets or pressured to sign dodgy wills and other legal documents all the time,” per SMH.

PEOPLE reached out to the Australian Supreme Court for comment, but they did not immediately respond.