Part of Lionel Cox’s will.
She became the “informant” on his death certificate and obtained a grant of probate from the Supreme Court in November 2015.
Cox’s former home on Greeves Street sold for $1,117,000 in 2016, while Kumar also received $36,277 in cash and personal items valued at $3000, according to court documents.
In August 2021, the former nurse was served with a “summons for revocation” in a Supreme Court action launched by State Trustees, which is owned by the Victorian government.
State Trustees’ lawyers claim the will was not executed in compliance with legislation and was inconsistent with Cox’s wishes.
“It was not consonant with the deceased’s natural affections or moral duties to bequeath his entire estate to a person whom he met only 24 days prior to the making of the will,” State Trustees lawyers alleged in the court documents.
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The Supreme Court’s decision last week to revoke probate comes more than five years after Kumar was banned from being a registered health practitioner for engaging in professional misconduct, following an investigation by the Nursing and Midwifery Board.
She appeared before VCAT in 2019, where she was described as a “deeply flawed character” who “lacks trustworthiness and integrity” and posed a risk to the public.
“The conduct in this case constituted determined, goal-directed actions by Ms Kumar to ensure that Mr Cox – a vulnerable, elderly man in her care – made a will in her favour, and that no one knew he had done so until after he died,” according to a ruling by three VCAT members.
Part of Lionel Cox’s will.
Kumar was banned from being a registered health practitioner and from working or volunteering in any sort of aged-care capacity for five years.
Geoffrey Cox, a cousin of the late Lionel Cox and a beneficiary of the recent Supreme Court decision, declined to comment when contacted by The Age.
However, his lawyer James Dimond from the law firm Moores said the will had been made in “the most suspicious circumstances imaginable”.
Dimond, who heads the firm’s elder financial abuse practice, said the court’s decision to revoke probate served an important public interest.
“It’s an important reminder that the law can and will catch up with you eventually,” he said.
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“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.
“The court system is rife with elder financial abuse cases, usually involving close family members.”
Kumar could not be reached for comment. Her lawyer, Rosemary Prior from Prior Law, did not respond to requests for comment.
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