Estate Dispute With Charities Regarding Deathbed Gift Comes To An End

The High Court has ruled that a man should be entitled to receive the house owned by his deceased aunt, following his claim that she handed him the deeds just months prior to her death and wanted him to own it on her death.

Kenneth King, 58, who looked after June Fairbrother in her final years, said he had been told that he would receive her £350,000 home in Hertfordshire when she passed away. However, seven charities argued that a will written in 1998 stated that the property would be left to them.

In a ruling at the High Court, Deputy Judge Charles Hollander stated that signed documents from 2010 which were not technical valid wills suggested Mrs Fairbrother wanted to leave the house to Mr King with the intention that he would care for her pets. Mrs Fairbrother also spoke to Mr King about making sure he got the house “when I go”.

Deputy Judge Hollander also rejected the charities arguments that Mrs Fairbrother was lacking capacity when she handed the deeds to Mr King.

Deputy Judge Hollander said, "In my judgement, the words used, in context, were indeed suggestive of a gift conditional on death and not consistent with any other interpretation,” he added.

Expert Opinion

The claim in this case was brought under the legal principle of ‘donatio mortis causa’ (DNC). This is where a gift is made in contemplation of imminent death. In this case, it was ruled that it was the intention of the aunt to leave the property to her nephew – regardless of the contents of the will prepared in 1998. <br/> <br/>"It is interesting to note that the judge felt, if the DNC case was unsuccessful, that Mr King should still receive a lump sum from the estate under the Inheritance Act 1975, which states a person who is being maintained either wholly or partly by the deceased can apply to the court for reasonable financial provision. This was due to the fact Mr King was unlikely to get much further employment, and has no significant assets or home apart from the property. <br/> <br/>"Ultimately, a case like this demonstrates the importance of ensuring wills are prepared and kept updated to reflect a person’s wishes. The failure to keep the document updated in this respect meant that a loved one faced a time-consuming and costly legal battle to get what they were entitled to."