Son loses probate dispute with Baronet father
20 Jan 2012
In the battle over the inheritance of Corby Castle, Philip Howard
has lost his probate dispute.
Mr Howard was challenging a ruling made by Mrs Justice Proudman
last year over the sale of the ancestral family home in 1994 by his
father Sir John Howard-Lawson.
He was seeking £1.5 million "inheritance" at the appeal, claiming
that the castle was not Sir John's to sell so he should receive the
proceeds of the sale.
However three judges at the Court of Appeal agreed with the
original ruling and dismissed Mr Howard's challenge.
As part of his appeal, he claimed that Sir John had forfeited his
right to inherit the castle by failing to comply with the "name and
arms" clause in his great grandfather's will.
The clause stated that to inherit the ancestral home, descendents
would have to adopt the Howard surname and coat of arms.
Mrs Justice Proudman found that as he had complied with the clause
in time he had not forfeited his claim and the castle was his to
sell.
She added that the clause was only included because the estate was
being passed on to a woman at the time it was made in 1934 and he
wanted to continue the association of the name and arms with the
castle.
The Court of Appeal agreed with the original interpretation of the
clause and dismissed the probate dispute.
Corby Castle had been in the Howard family since the 17th century
but was sold in the 1990s due to financial hardship.
Chun Truong, a dispute resolution solicitor at Hodge Jones
& Allen comments: “Wills can get very contentious between
family members. It is important that a will is written by a
professional solicitor, to avoid any ambiguity or litigation in the
future. If you are considering making a will or would like to
discus making a will, please do not hesitate to
contact our Private Client team.
“If you find yourself in the unfortunate
situation of being embroiled in a dispute, then contact our
Dispute Resolution team. We are experienced
in dealing with all manner of contentious probate issues and can
offer impartial specialist advice."