header-logo header-logo

Home Login E-newsletter About us
26 April 2012
Issue: 7511 / Categories: Case law , Law reports , In Court
printer mail-detail

Inheritance rights—Statutory next of kin—Right to family life

© Copyright LexisNexis 2026. All Rights Reserved.

Re Erskine Trust [2012] EWHC 732 (Ch), [2012] All ER (D) 03 (Apr)

Chancery Division, Mark Herbert QC, 29 March 2012

The exclusion of adopted children from the definition of “statutory next of kin” in the Administration of Estates Act 1925 by the Adoption of Children Act 1926, s 5 was discriminatory and contrary to the prohibition in Art 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

Edward Hewitt (instructed by Veale Wasbrough Vizards) for the trustees. David Rowell (instructed by Veale Wasbrough Vizards) for C and S. Charles Holbeach (instructed by Veale Wasbrough Vizards) for M.

The issue raised in the instant case was the construction of the phrase “statutory next of kin” in an English settlement made in 1948 and the possible retrospective effect of the European Convention on Human Rights (the Convention) on that construction. In 1948, the deceased, DM, made a settlement in respect of which a trust fund worth approximately £3.2m was set up (the trust). The beneficiary

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Read All
Sponsored by
Carey Olsen—Patrick Ormond

Carey Olsen—Patrick Ormond

Partner joinscorporate and finance practice in British Virgin Islands

Dawson Cornwell—Naomi Angell

Dawson Cornwell—Naomi Angell

Firm strengthens children department with adoption and surrogacy expert

Penningtons Manches Cooper—Graham Green

Penningtons Manches Cooper—Graham Green

Media and technology expert joins employment team as partner in Cambridge

NEWS
Read All
NLJ this week: Divorce ‘nuclear weapon’ freezes assets but entangles outsiders
Freezing orders in divorce proceedings can unexpectedly ensnare third parties and disrupt businesses. In NLJ this week, Lucy James of Trowers & Hamlins explains how these orders—dubbed a ‘nuclear weapon’—preserve assets but can extend far beyond spouses to companies and business partners 
NLJ this week: What counts as ‘rent’? Court says labour alone won’t do
A Court of Appeal ruling has clarified that ‘rent’ must be monetary—excluding tenants paid in labour from statutory protection. In this week's NLJ, James Naylor explains Garraway v Phillips, where a tenant worked two days a week instead of paying rent
Your magistrates’ court needs you!
Thousands more magistrates are to be recruited, under a major shake-up to speed up and expand the hiring process
LexisNexis Legal Awards 2026—the winners!
The winners of the LexisNexis Legal Awards 2026 have now been announced, marking another outstanding celebration of excellence, innovation, and impact across the legal profession
NLJ this week: Freed but failed—justice system leaves the innocent empty-handed
Three men wrongly imprisoned for a combined 77 years have been released—yet received ‘not a penny’ in compensation, exposing deep flaws in the justice system. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Jon Robins reports on Justin Plummer, Oliver Campbell and Peter Sullivan, whose convictions collapsed amid discredited forensics, ‘oppressive’ police interviews and unreliable ‘cell confessions’
Copyright © 2026 LexisNexis
back-to-top-scroll