Page 70 • The HERALD • 16th July 2026 v WE’VE BEEN YOUR LOCAL SINCE 1994 v ASK A PROFESSIONAL Case Law Update - Estrangement Overturned Advice from Jasper Vincent Solicitors A recent case has been published from the High Court where a daughter who was expressly excluded from her father’s Will successfully challenged her exclusion. At rst glance this might seem like a very strange decision, but the more the facts come to light, the more the judgment makes some sense. e case is called McDaniel v Talbot 2026 and is available to read online. In the UK, Will making begins from a principle known as testamentary freedom: you can do as you please in your own Will. We then have a statute law that allows a child of a deceased person to challenge a Will if it fails to make “reasonable nancial provision”. at decision will be at a judge’s discretion and will be highly fact dependent. In this case, the deceased had been estranged from his daughter practically since her birth. His Will had been made during their estrangement. is signi cantly changed in his later life because he reached out to his daughter and established a genuinely loving relationship with her. e daughter herself cared for her two disabled children and he freely o ered her nancial assistance, adding an extra moral dimension to the case not always seen. He died without managing to update his old Will. e court looked at her case and determined that the stars would align for the daughter. She had a genuine nancial need as a carer compared to the other people named in the Will. Alloy that with the recovery of her relationship with her father, his clause stating ‘no relationship with her’ became factually incorrect by the time he died. is case is an exception because of those rare facts. Wills are meant to be living documents and should be reviewed regularly to keep them factually up to date. Especially where a child has been disinherited for lack of a relationship, this case demonstrates how important those reviews can be to avoid litigation. For an initial Will or probate consultation, feel free to contact partner Angela Pelleschi and senior associate solicitor Edward Kennard at Jasper Vincent’s Waterside o ce on: 023 8089 0919. Upcoming Oakhaven Business Club Networking Events Oakhaven Business Club runs regular networking events with local businesses across the New Forest, Waterside and Totton. Businesses can pay-as-you-go per person per session, or become an annual member. Tuesday 11th August, 9.30am-11.30am, New Forest Walk and Work, a 1 hour walk through the Tall Trees Trail, followed by tea/co ee and cake at Rhine eld House Hotel, £18. Tuesday 18th August, 5pm–7pm, Oakhaven Business Club Summer Party at Christchurch Harbour Hotel, celebrating 4 years of Oakhaven Business Club, £30pp. For more information about how to join the Oakhaven Business Club or to book a space for one of their networking events please visit: www. oakhavenhospice.co.uk/oakhaven-business-club NFBP Business Support Programme New Forest Business Partnership (NFBP) have a really useful programme of business support and networking events, open to everybody and aimed at providing training for local businesses across a variety of essential skills. e programme includes a mix of both online and in person events - and many of them are free of charge. New Forest Business Support Hour: Join in an informal one hour networking meeting – an opportunity to update each other on how your businesses are progressing, to meet new people and to ask each other questions in a relaxed setting. You do need to book your FREE place by 3pm on the day. You will then receive an email before the meeting starts with the Zoom meeting ID and password to enable you to join the meeting online. e next session is taking place on Wednesday 22nd July, 4pm–5pm. Other NFBP events: Networking Sail on the Solent, 21st July, 9am, with Escape Yachting, sailing from Lymington Yacht Haven, members £99, non-members £109. Networking Breakfast, 23rd July, 8am–9.30am at the Tonic Rooms, Sunny elds Farm Totton, £25. NFBP’s 25th Anniversary Garden Party (6pm) and Dinner (8pm), 23rd July, at e Nici New Forest in Lymington (bookings close 16th July), Garden party £30, Garden Party and Anniversary Dinner £99. New Forest Show Networking Reception, 28th, 29th and 30th July, 11am-1pm, at the Member’s Enclosure, £60, book via the New Forest Show website: https:// newforestshow.ticketsrv.co.uk/tickets/Networking For more information and to book a place on any of the above events please visit: www.n p.org.uk
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