I worked for a relative’s business without pay after being promised it in their Will. They died recently and did not leave me the business. Can I challenge the Will?
The short answer is yes. Even though a promise in the family context may not give rise to a binding contract (or be intended to) the Court might still hold the person who made the promise to be bound by it.
The basis on which it will do so is called “proprietary estoppel”.
The elements of proprietary estoppel are: first an assurance or a promise of a property or an interest in a property, then reasonable reliance on that promise by another to their detriment and finally, that it would be unfair for the party who made the promise to change their mind.
Whilst frequently arising in farming families, proprietary estoppel nevertheless has a wide application as Mr and Mrs Lothian found (undoubtedly to their relief) in the unreported case of Lothian – v – Dixon & Webb.
The case was about someone who owned and ran a seaside hotel before her death. She had made a Will many years ago leaving her estate to her two cousins and sisters, Mrs Lothian and Mrs Webb.
She then discovered that she had terminal cancer and asked Mrs Lothian to help run and manage the hotel, promising that she would receive her entire estate if she did. Mrs Lothian agreed and spent much of the next two years at the hotel for no appreciable pay and away from her husband
Just before her death the deceased gave instructions to change her Will but died before executing the new Will, which meant her earlier Will stood.
Mr and Mrs Lothian applied to the court to challenge this. Finding in their favour, the Judge noted that Mr and Mrs Lothian had acted to their detriment having had to live apart for two years whilst Mrs Lothian worked for no remuneration. Mrs Lothian had also postponed a hip replacement whilst assisting the deceased.
This is just the latest in a long line of cases demonstrating the flexibility of the doctrine of proprietary estoppel where a promise is made and provisions of a Will or the rules of intestacy would lead to a person or persons not receiving what they were promised.
James Burrows is a partner in the inheritance and trusts disputes team at Stephens Scown LLP in Truro. The firm is ranked the best in Devon and Cornwall for its work challenging Wills, by independent guide to the legal profession, Legal 500. To contact James, please call 01872 265100, email solicitors@stephens-scown.co.uk.