The dispute between Erwin Eisenberg and his first wife, Angela Susan, and what went along with it, led to the deterioration of relations between the late Shoul Eisenberg and his son Erwin, to the point of estrangement. So claims Liz Hardy, Eisenberg’s daughter, in an affidavit submitted to the court, as part of her opposition to probate being granted to the will her father made in 1986, in which he bequeathed 80% of his assets to Erwin.
Hardy claims that Eisenberg annulled this will, the original of which has not been found to this day. According to her, in 1987 Erwin’s wife filed for divorce in a London court. During the prolonged proceedings, Hardy claims, "Erwin concealed material facts from the court, failed to disclose figures and documents, and gave unreliable evidence."
In these two years, Hardy claims, a dramatic change for the worse came about in the relationship between Eisenberg and Erwin. She said that Eisenberg cut off relations entirely with his son, and a most bitter dispute broke out between them. Because of the quarrel, Erwin’s employment in Eisenberg group companies was terminated, and the payment of salary and perks was stopped.
Hardy argues that it is clear that the bad relations remaining between Erwin and his father after the writing of the will are inconsistent with her father’s desire to settle 80% of his estate on his son. Hardy also claims that it is clear that her father feared that if he were to die, a substantial part of his property would go to Erwin’s ex-wife, who was not one of his children and against whom he had severe complaints. This fear, according to Hardy, was also a motive for Eisenberg to cancel the will.