Chiswick Woman In Row With Brother Over Mother's Funeral

Court to make ruling following dispute between the siblings

Two siblings, both aged in their sixties, one of whom lives in Chiswick, have ended up in a court battle following a dispute between them over how their late mother should be buried.

A judge has said he would need "the judgement of Solomon" to rule on the case between Susanna Levrant of Chiswick and her brother David Freud of Oxfordshire.

Susanna Levrant

Their mother, Iris Freud, who lived in Putney for 66 years, died in West Middlesex Hospital on October 12th, and her body remains in storage while her children dispute her funeral and burial.

Mrs. Levrant claims that as her mother was born as Church of England, though her late husband Gideon, was a practising Jew, she should have a Church of England ceremony and be buried in the graveyard in East Sheen. The court was told that once her husband died, Iris Freud ceased observing Jewish rules.

Mrs. Levrant wants a ceremony with "much loved hymns" and a rendition of If You Were The Only Girl In The World, which her father used to sing to her mother.

Mr. Freud wishes his mother to be buried in accordance with Jewish practices. He wants "an austere ceremony to observe shloshim, a period when a mourner is forbidden ... to attend concerts or listen to music”. And he wants his mother to be buried Kensal Green cemetary.

Mr Justice Arnold has said he "does not have the judgement of Solomon". However, if the siblings could not agree on the issue, somebody would have to decide.

"I suggest that they ought to be asking themselves ... whether they are willing for a neutral person to decide upon a third alternative.”

The case is continuing. A decision is expected this week.

November 7, 2015