Elton John snubbed by his mother Sheila Farebrother in her will

Elton John ‘snubbed’ in mum Sheila Farebrother’s will – but PA at heart of long-running feud is ‘left £250k’.

The Sun reports that Elton was left just two ceramic urns and some family photographs in his mother Sheila Farebrother’s will, and his husband David Furnish and sons Zachary and Elijah were missed out entirely. But she reportedly left half of her £534,000 fortune to ex-PA Bob Halley. The other half was split between the Elton’s half-brother Frederick Farebrother and Sheila’s friend Deborah Woodward.

According to The Sun, Elton and his mother felt out, after Halley, who had worked with Elton for three decades, was fired by the singer. Elton allegedly asked his mother to drop Halley as well, but she refused, saying that he was as close as a son to her. It was the last straw in an already tense relationship, and the mother-and-son feud played out in the English tabloids, with Sheila famously hiring an Elton impersonator to appear at her 90th birthday party in place of the singer.

But after eight years of bad blood, they reconciled in 2016. And despite their past differences, the singer uploaded a touching image to social media following his mother’s death in December. “So sad to say that my mother passed away this morning. I only saw her last Monday and I am in shock. Travel safe Mum. Thank-you for everything. I will miss you so much. Love, Elton,” he wrote.

According to The Sun‘s sources however, Sheila’s will had been changed just a few weeks before her death, meaning that it was not a decision she made during the heat of their spat. While Elton was unlikely to be hurt over missing out on money, given that he’s worth hundreds of millions of dollars himself, being largely left out of the will could be painful to the singer because it meant Sheila had not truly recovered from their fallout out, the source added.

As for Elton, he appeared at peace with mother, writing of her funeral in January, “thank-you for bringing me into the world and for all that you have done for me”. So despite the source’s claims, the singer may well have already been aware that he would not play a large part in the will, and was happy with that.

Wills are tricky business, and being left out when you may have thought you’d be included, can be painful. Some legal advisers even recommend leaving a token bequeath or amount for each close relative so there are fewer grounds on which to challenge the will.