When a beneficiary becomes a wolf in sheep’s clothing: Beddoe relief & derivative claims, examined by Constance McDonnell QC
- Bringing a claim: motivations of a beneficiary v a PR.
- Roberts v Gill: principles of bringing a claim.
- Beddoe applications: time to consider the possibility of a derivative claim?
It is not uncommon, indeed probably the norm, for a beneficiary to have stronger motivation than a personal representative to bring a claim on behalf of an estate where that beneficiary has personal knowledge of a perceived wrong done to their deceased relative and/or where the value of that beneficiary’s inheritance would be substantially affected by a successful outcome to the proposed claim. Subject to their resources, the beneficiary may therefore be more likely to be prepared to take up the cudgels on behalf of the estate and to pursue the claim with all necessary resources than an understandably more cautious PR.
Principles
It is now well settled that a beneficiary can bring a derivative
