Inheritance Dispute

In a decision made by the High Court over the inheritance of a family farm, a woman has been awarded over £1 million in damages in recognition of the work she’d done on the farm over a period of three decades. 

 

Starting at the farm just after she left school, Lucy initially began working with her father to reintroduce a dairy herd to farm, later going on to run the dairy business.  She worked on the farm for over 30 years, where she was joined by her partner, whom she later had four children with. Together, the couple continued to run the business whilst raising their family. 

 

Though Lucy claimed that her father assured her that she would take over the farm, upon his death in 2014, these promises were not carried out.  This prompted her to bring a claim, which her mother opposed. 

 

She told the High Court: “I worked hard on the farm for so long and following my father’s drop in health, my siblings, with the help of my mother, made it impossible to stay on the farm.  To start with I didn’t know I could do anything about the situation – I think a lot of people in farming are not aware of this law and how it could help them.  Once I realised there was something I could do, I knew I had to try for my children’s sake and to give them a secure future.” 

 

Source: Today’s Wills & Probate.. 

 

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