A son who thought he had inherited a luxury cottage must wait to see whether he has to either pay hundreds of thousands of dollars or return the property to his late father’s estate.

Appeals Court judges have retired to consider a dispute over the future of the $2 million-rated Greensleeves Cottage, in Tucker’s Town, between Alex Scrymgeour and trustees appointed by his father John.

Before he died from cancer in August 2003, Mr. Scrymgeour Sr. transferred the property into The Interior Trust, of which the sole beneficiary was his son.

Mr. Scrymgeour Sr. also paid $1.1 million into the trust to help his son complete the purchase of the home.

However, Mr. Scrymgeour Jr. has since been in a dispute with The Interior Trust over whether the $1.1 million was meant as a gift or a loan.

The Interior Trust says it was a loan and must be repaid to Mr. Scrymgeour Sr.’s estate; the son argues it was a gift as his dying father had told him on numerous occasions the cottage would soon be his.

On the second and final day of an Appeals Court hearing yesterday, the judges suggested that if it had been meant as a loan, Mr. Scrymgeour Jr. would have to either get out of the home or repay the money.

John Milligan-Whyte, representing Mr. Scrymgeour Jr., said: “The father said: ‘You should live in the house; the house is yours son.’”

Andrew Martin, representing Wendell Hollis and Joseph Johnson of The Interior Trust, said that from the outset the father had meant the cash to be a loan and there was no evidence to say he had changed his mind.

At an earlier civil trial, a judge ruled in favour of Mr. Scrymgeour Jr., stating: “It was not a loan because John wanted Alex to have it and he would not have wanted him to be saddled with loan payments.” The Interior Trust is now appealing that ruling.

Appeals Court President Justice Edward Zacca said both parties would be informed of the decision in due course.