High Court Rules Against Charity in Will Dispute

A High Court battle has concluded with a judge ordering that a £1.9m estate arising out of the Will of a llama-loving pensioner, Candia Midworth, should be shared among multiple animal charities, rather than just one. Midworth, who died in 2022, wrote her Will in 1994, leaving her estate to six charities. However, the British Camelids Ltd, a charity for alpacas and llamas, brought a case to court claiming the other charities should not receive a share because she had used outdated names and charity numbers in her Will, and some of the original unincorporated entities no longer existed in the same form.

The court, however, ruled against British Camelids Ltd, stating that the Will should be interpreted based on the “charitable purposes” of the organisations. The judge, Master Katherine McQuail, determined that despite the changes in the charities’ names or legal status over the years, they continued to carry out the same charitable work that Midworth intended to support. This upheld the deceased’s original intentions, ensuring that her legacy was distributed among the Brooke, the Born Free Foundation, World Animal Protection, and the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection, in addition to British Camelids Ltd.

This case highlights the critical importance of clarity when writing a Will which includes charitable beneficiaries. Vague or outdated information can lead to costly and time-consuming legal disputes that drain the estate’s funds and cause significant stress for the beneficiaries. To avoid such conflicts, it is essential to ensure that a Will is regularly reviewed and updated to reflect current charity names, legal entities, and registration numbers. This ensures that the testator’s wishes are clear and legally sound, preventing future disputes and guaranteeing that the intended beneficiaries receive their rightful inheritance.