BC man abandons family, sues when family makes millions selling land

A former BC man who abandoned his family and later learned they sold land he owned for millions of dollars was awarded only half a million dollars from his ex-spouse in a BC court challenge. He left the property to his wife when he left without notice for the US in 2012, penning a despondent letter to explain his departure. Nearly a decade later, he made a claim in court when he learned it sold for millions. Herbert Henery Porter's ex-wife was ordered to pay him $455,000, which will "level the playing field," funding both his move back to the Lower Mainland and his legal fees, according to a recently published BC Supreme Court decision. Porter, 88, and his 81-year-old ex-wife, Kathleen Reimer, married in 1964. They lived in Chilliwack, where they owned a home and a 15-acre piece of farm land near the city's airport. They had two kids, who are now middle-aged. It was after those children grew into adults that Porter left without warning. His April 2012 letter leaves apologies and updates on chores around the house. READ MORE: This may be one way to get excluded from new short-term rental rules in Kelowna https://infotel.ca/inhome/this-may-be-one-way-to-get-excluded-from-new-short-term-rental-rules-in-kelowna/it102270 "Kathleen, you have been a good wife. It's been me all along causing trouble. Maybe now that I have left I won't be able to annoy anyone anymore. I am very sorry for all the times I got angry. Looking back over all the years I have been the cause of all your heartache. Maybe now that I'll be out of your life, things should be a lot [sic] pleasant for you," the letter begins. He ended the letter with a goodbye to Kathleen, signing off as "The Loser." Porter was a US citizen when he left, transferring the title to their home to his wife two years earlier, while the pair had shares in the company that owned the farm land, Porter Holdings Ltd. At the time they separated, the farm land was assessed at $73,400, but six years later his son was looking to rezone the property. His ex-wife believed he abandoned the property, just as he abandoned his family and their marriage, but their son still needed to to have the company shares transferred in order to sell, according to the decision. In 2018, Porter's son hired a private investigator to find him. Porter was in Roswell, New Mexico, where his son visited unannounced that September. He also recorded the meeting. Porter welcomed him inside, where his son said he had cancer, which was part of the reason for the visit. He also gave some updates on the family Porter left behind. "A lot of stuff has changed, so the family's changed," Porter's son said. "It changed the second you left. The very second. So I'm not here to discuss that too much. It is what it is." READ MORE: Bighorn sheep might become 'little-horn sheep' soon https://infotel.ca/newsitem/bighorn-sheep-might-become-little-horn-sheep-soon/it102280 They then discussed the farm land. Porter's son said there's interest in developing five acres of the land, but it needed to be rezoned. "You do whatever you want with it," Porter said, who added he wasn't considering returning to Canada at the time. Porter's son told him of family responsibilities falling on him, which came with stress and an eventual cancer diagnosis. He expected he would die before his father, but added he "came to terms" with his mortality and returned to discussing the farm land, according to the decision. "Essentially what I'm asking you -- I'm not telling you -- I'm asking you, to make our lives at least a little bit easier and let us have it," Porter's son said. Porter agreed and signed over the company shares, but later told the court he had no memory of signing the documents and that he was "overwhelmed" with seeing his son for the first time in years. READ MORE: Two of three remaining properties near Kelowna’s newest waterfront park are for sale https://infotel.ca/inhome/two-of-three-remaining-properties-near-kelownas-newest-waterfront-park-are-for-sale/it102279 Three years later, the property was rezoned and sold for more than $28 million. The majority of the profits went to Porter's son and his wife. Porter filed a claim in BC family court in 2022, claiming the property transfer was done under "duress or as a result of fraudulent misrepresentations." He sold his New Mexico home and moved back to the Lower Mainland, now living with his daughter. He expects to move into his own place and earns a pension of roughly $33,000, so the court awarded him $455,000 in order to "level the playing field." The money is meant to help him fund legal fees and other expenses, according to the decision. "It would not be in the interests of justice to allow the claim to be stifled solely because of the claimant’s impecuniosity," BC Supreme Court Master Kimberley Robertson said in her Nov. 20 decision. Porter's ex-wife was ordered to pay him $225,000 within 30 days of  the decision, with two further payment by April before a trial over the land sale starts that month. To contact a reporter for this story, email Levi Landry mailto:llandry@infonews.ca  or call 250-819-3723 or email the editor mailto:news@infonews.ca . You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom mailto:tips@infonews.ca  and be entered to win a monthly prize draw. We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. 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