News & Insights

If you have been promised a gift or other property from a person that has died but this promise hasn’t been reflected in their will, a solicitor or lawyer may still be able to help you make a claim for it.

A claim of this sort is known as a claim in proprietary estoppel.

An estoppel claim could arise where, for example, a father (A) promises to his son (B) that he will give him the family farm and, relying on that promise, the son works on the farm for many years on a low wage. If the father does not subsequently transfer the farm to his son, his son could have an estoppel claim against his father (or his father’s estate).

They are factually and legally complex claims but in order to bring a successful claim, B (the son) must be able to show that there was a representation or assurance (the promise) made to him by A (his father) and B suffered detriment in consequence of his reasonable reliance on A’s promise.

On 2 December 2021, the Supreme Court heard an appeal in a case which concerns this issue of the relief to which the claimant should be entitled once an equitable interest in property by way of proprietary estoppel has been established.  The question before the Supreme Court is whether the court should:

• give effect to the claimant’s expectation (i.e. the son in our example) based on the father’s (in our example) representation / assurance, unless it is disproportionate to do so, or
• compensate for the value of the detriment suffered by the son, or
• grant relief which falls somewhere between the options of satisfying the son’s expectation in full and compensating for the detriment suffered.

The Supreme Court’s judgment is awaited and we will update this topic when the judgment has been delivered.

If you would like to discuss a contentious will issue you have, please contact one of our Inheritance Disputes experts.

This article is for general information only and does not constitute legal or professional advice. Please note that the law may have changed since this article was published.