Son fails to become will beneficiary

The importance of hiring a professional executor has been highlighted by a case in which the battle over a Cumbrian estate was awarded to a father over his son.

Philip Howard claimed that his father, Sir John Howard-Lawson, did not have a right to his inheritance as he had not adhered to a "name and arms clause" which was part of his great-great grandfather's 1930 will, thus forfeiting his interest.

This clause meant that access to the Cumbrian estate depended upon adopting the arms and surname of Howard.

Mr Howard, 49, claimed that the land was his rightful inheritance as his father and previous lawyers and trustees had hidden this clause from him, showing the importance of using a professional executor service.

In addition, Mr Howard said that he would not have faced bankruptcy in 1993 had he known this at the time. However, Sir Howard-Lawson said that his son had previously mismanaged a section of the estate, which had to be sold off as a result.

A judge ruled in favour of Sir Howard-Lawson, saying that he had met the terms of the will.

Furthermore, Lexology contributor Fay Copeland said that over the past 12 months the number of inheritance disputes in the High Court have increased by 38 per cent.

Published by Phil Hammond