The claimant, the adult son of the deceased sought provision from the estate. He said that he had taken a substantial part in the refurbishment of a family property. Later his parents had separated. At first instance Behrens J had held there was a moral obligation on a father arising out of the very substantial amount of work carried out by the son coupled with the promises that were made to him by the father.
Held: Whilst working, he had been told ‘This will be yours, now you’ve got to work for it’ The claimant had worked for the farm and contributed, and there remained some moral obligation in his favour, and that obligation had been created for consideration. The judge had capitalised the claimant’s request for maintenance from the estate. The appeal against the judge’s award was denied.
Nourse LJ said: ‘In my judgment [the judge] was entitled to conclude that there was such an obligation. Moreover, the promises having been that the plaintiff would inherit the farm, the obligation was one which would not arise until the deceased’s death. I do not say that it was cast in stone. No doubt it could, for example, have been discharged if the plaintiff had acted inappropriately in the meantime. But there was no evidence and no finding to that effect.’
Judges:
Nourse LJ
Citations:
[1998] EWCA Civ 1097
Statutes:
Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Citing:
Cited – Snapes v Aram; Wade etc, In re Hancocks (Deceased) CA 1-May-1998
The adult daughter of the deceased claimed under the 1975 Act. The deceased had acted entirely reasonably in leaving his business land to those of his children who were active in the business, but after his death part of the land acquired a . .
Cited – In Re Coventry (deceased) CA 3-Jan-1979
The deceased’s adult son sought provision from the intestate estate. The sole beneficiary under the rules was the plaintiff’s mother. The estate was modest; the intestate’s interest in his house (he had been living there with the plaintiff). The . .
Cited by:
Cited – Wright v Waters and Another ChD 6-Nov-2014
The claimant sought provision from her late mother’s estate under the 1975 Act, and asserting a proprietary estoppel. The mother had transferred andpound;10,000 to the daughter several years before. The mother had said it was to be invested on her . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Wills and Probate
Updated: 19 November 2022; Ref: scu.144576