The Rt. Hon. Sir Lancelot Henderson has granted permission to appeal against the decision of HHJ Milwyn Jarman QC (sitting as an additional judge of the High Court) in Ali v Khatib [2021].
The Court of Appeal will decide whether a residuary beneficiary under a will is liable to pay the estate rent for his or her use and occupation of the deceased’s property during the period of a protracted probate dispute. It will consider whether Creasy v Sole [2013] EWHC 1410 (Ch) was rightly decided and whether such beneficiaries have any rights of occupation for the purposes of section 12 of the Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996.
The case is likely to prove of interest to most probate practitioners given how often beneficiaries under their parents’ wills choose to remain living in the former family home.
Clifford Darton QC acts for Appellant (not having acted at the trial) instructed by Mr. Simon Care of Berry Smith.