Children of dry cleaning tycoon who pioneered same-day-service fight over his million-dollar empire and mansion that threatens to tear the family apart
- Seven out of eight of the tycoon’s children are disputing their parents will
- Linda Nemer made a shock change to the will favouring her daughters
- Along with profits from Tip Top the Adelaide family mansion is up for grabs
- The family are no strangers to court proceedings as a dark past haunts them
The children of Tip Top dry cleaning’s founder Antoine Nemer are pitted in a grueling court battle as they fight for their parents’ million-dollar fortune after a shocking last-minute will change.
Mr Nemer died in 2016 and left his empire, which is still be fully valued, to his wife of 50 years Linda who he had eight children with.
Ms Nemer made a last-minute change to her will in 2017 before she died which heavily favoured her four daughters over her three sons who still live in Australia.
An eight child lives overseas and is not part of the court battle which centres around the family’s mansion in Springfield, Adelaide as well as profits from their dry cleaning company.
Seven children of famous Tip Top dry cleaning’s founder Antoine Nemer, are facing a grueling court battle as they fight for their parents’ multi-millions after a shocking change was made to his will.
Mr Nemer, immigrated to Australia in the 1940s from Lebanon with his brother Elias.
Despite being completely broke when he arrived, he was able to open the first Tip Top dry-cleaning shop in Gray Street, Adelaide, in 1953.
Mr Nemer pioneered same-day service when most other dry cleaners had a seven-day turnaround, the companies history reports.
Since then, the popular dry cleaners has boomed and stores can be found across South Australia.
When Mr Nemer passed away at age 90, the company expressed its ‘great sadness’.
His children also expressed their sadness in a published eulogy as they praised his ‘continuous life lessons’.
‘You only ever wanted the best for all of us. You were an amazingly strong and independent man whose road was long and varied,’ The Australian reported.
On Christmas Eve, the Supreme Court of South Australia published a judgement acknowledging the ‘substantial’ value of Mr Antoine Nemer’s estate, reporting that the ‘complex’ will had not yet been settled.
An initial will was made by Mrs Nemer, which was then amended when a codicil was added in May 2017, which has riled three of her four sons.
The judgement said that the codicil ‘is a fundamentally important change’ in part because of the ‘magnitude of her interest in the estate’ of Mrs Nemer’s late husband.
The dispute is predicted to cost the children a considerable sum of money to settle.
This is not the first time the family will face court proceedings as Paul Habib Nemer, grandson of Antoine Nemer, spent years in a notorious South Australian Legal battle after blinding a van driver, when he shot him in the eye.
Mr Nemer believed the victim, who was a local newsagent, was a stalker when he fired the shot.
As it was expected he would face trial for attempted murder, public outrage soared when he was let off lightly with a three-year sentence and $100 good behaviour bond.
Despite being completely broke when he arrived Nemer was able to open the first Tip Top dry-cleaning shop in Gray sreet, Adelaide in 1953.