Man who worked 25 years for nothing loses claim to inherit farm

The stress and anguish that can arise from a person’s failure to make a will has been highlighted in the case of a farm labourer who worked without pay for 25 years on the understanding that he would eventually inherit the farm.

David Thorner, who is 57, spent most of his adult life helping out on a farm in Somerset owned by his cousin Peter Thorner. He agreed not to take any wages on the understanding that he would inherit the land, worth £2m, when his cousin died. He lived on little more than pocket money from his parents in the meantime.

Peter made a will leaving the estate to David. Later he made an alteration to the will relating to a completely different matter but then never returned it to his solicitor. When he died the will could not be found.

In the absence of a will, other members of Peter’s family claimed the estate. The case ended up in the High Court which recognised David’s remarkable commitment and accepted that his cousin Peter had wanted him to inherit.
David was awarded the farm with the remainder of the estate, valued at over £1m, going to other members of the family.

However, Peter’s sisters challenged the ruling and have now won their case in the Court of Appeal. Lord Justice Lloyd said David Thorner had a strong moral claim to the farm but it would be a dangerous precedent for him to inherit it. "This is another case, where, what appear to have been a man's testamentary intentions have failed because, for whatever reason, he did not take the proper steps to put them into effect.

"It may be thought that David had a strong moral claim to inherit Peter's farm, after the unstinting help he gave to Peter, both on the farm and in personal support to him in his life, over almost 30 years."

However, Lord Justice Lloyd then added that there was no evidence that anything had been said "which in terms amounted to a statement, still less a promise, that David would inherit the farm.

"At its highest, David's claim is that Peter said things which implied that David was to become the owner of the farm on Peter's death.

"The fact that Peter did intend that David should inherit the farm, as the judge found to be the case, is not sufficient."

Mr Thorner lost his case and was refused permission to appeal to the House of Lords. He was also ordered to pay costs.

The case has attracted widespread publicity and illustrates the problems that can arise if someone fails to make a will or fails to keep it up to date. Anyone who has not made a will or updated it to reflect changes in their circumstances should consider doing so as soon as possible.

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