‘1. “One day my son, all this will be yours”. Spoken by a farmer to his son when in his teens, and repeated for many years thereafter. Relying on that promise of inheritance from his father, the son spends the best part of his working life on the farm, working at very low wages, accommodated […]
Category Archives: Proprietary estoppel
09
Jul
Jul
A version of this article, written for a lay audience, first appeared on the Transparency Project blog. The Transparency Project is a registered charity which aims to explain and discuss family law and family courts in England & Wales, and signpost to useful resources to help people understand the system and the law better. You can read more articles […]
04
Jan
Jan
It’s been a bumper year for proprietary estoppel cases. Here is a round up of some of decisions that caught my attention. James v James [2018] EWHC 43 (Ch) The claimant, Sam, in James v James was the son of the deceased, Charles James. The subject matter of the proprietary estoppel claim was the deceased’s farm in Dorset. […]
12
Mar
Mar
We have another notable proprietary estoppel case, concerning the ubiquitous farm, but in this instance featuring an actual fight in the milking parlour: the bucolically named Habberfield v Habberfield [2018] EWHC 317 (Ch).The decision of Birss J is of particular interest for his approach to the issue of the relief to be granted in satisfying the equity […]
18
Feb
Feb
HHJ Paul Matthews, sitting as a High Court Judge, has recently revisited the ingredients of proprietary estoppel and the requirements for establishing testamentary capacity in James v James [2018] EWHC 43 (Ch). The case has been widely reported in the press, including the Daily Mail, whose take on the case was put as follows: “Farmer’s son who […]