Proprietary Estoppel

Proprietary estoppel is a claim where the applicant claims a right to land belonging to another party, in circumstances where the applicant has been led to believe, by a promise (by words or conduct) by the other party, that they have or can expect to be given an interest in the land.

If the will does not reflect a promise made by the deceased before his or her death (such as a promise to transfer land or property) you may have a proprietary estoppel claim. You also might want to look at whether there is any possibility of making a challenge to the validity of the will or whether you have an Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 claim.

It is difficult to say how much the total cost of a proprietary estoppel claim will be as it will depend upon what work needs to be undertaken to conclude the matter and how the other parties deal with the claim.

The overall cost of court proceedings can vary from a few thousand pounds to many tens of thousands of pounds.  Depending on the circumstances of the case, we generally always try and settle our clients’ cases outside of court to keep costs to a minimum for our clients. This also means our clients have as much control as they can over any settlement reached. 

We appreciate that the cost of obtaining legal advice or pursuing or defending a claim is often a great concern to clients.  Depending on the circumstances of your case, we may be able to offer you alternative funding options, such as "no win, no fee" or a deferred payment arrangement.

Yes. While proprietary estoppel cases are common in farming families, proprietary estoppel does not only apply to the farming sector.  In the cases of Wayling v Jones [1995] and Lothian v Dixon [2014], the claimants successfully claimed proprietary estoppel in respect of the deceased’s hotel businesses.