O’Herlihy v Taylor [2026] EWHC 505 (Ch)

Following a two-day trial of a preliminary issue Deputy Master Henderson has refused permission for an adult ‘child of the family' to bring a late claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 in respect of a £36m estate.

In the judgment handed down on 9 March 2026 the Deputy Master held that permission should be refused because the claim did not have a real prospect of success, being a claim by an adult who was capable of earning an income sufficient to provide for the costs of the daily living at the standard of living appropriate to him. That standard was the standard which the claimant created for himself after he ceased to have any further contact with the deceased some 7 years before the deceased’s death.

The Deputy Master further held that even if the claim had had a real prospect of success permission should not be granted for it to be brought, taking into account the delay of  4 1/2 years and the distribution of the estate.

Click here to read the judgment in full. 

Richard Wilson KC and Harry Martin acted for the executor/beneficiary of the estate, instructed by Lil Doherty, Ed Parry-Smith, Sheila Dines and Milo Grounds of Macfarlanes.