Alpacas miss out in charity estate dispute

In a significant judgment delivered on the 5th September, Master McQuail resolved the dispute over Candia Midworth's £1.9 million estate. The court determined that British Camelids Limited's claim to solely receive shares from the estate was unfounded. Instead, the estate will be distributed equally among British Camelids, the Brooke, the Born Free Foundation for its Zoo Check Project, the Libearty Campaign of World Society for the Protection of Animals (now operating as World Animal Protection), and the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection (currently known as Cruelty Free International).

Candia Midworth passed away in April 2022, leaving behind a will from 1994 that outlined her wishes to support various charities. The will specified that her estate would be divided among those charities existing at the time of her death, including British Camelids, the Brooke, the Born Free Foundation, and the World Society for the Protection of Animals, among others.

Though the Brooke, the Born Free Foundation, and the World Society for the Protection of Animals started as unincorporated charities in 1994, they later became incorporated entities. The funds from these original charities were transferred to their respective incorporated versions, complete with new charity numbers. Both Born Free and World Animal Protection continue to pursue their charitable missions, with Born Free actively engaging in its Zoo Check Project and World Animal Protection dedicated to its Libearty efforts supporting bears.

The only charity not continuing its work, the Burstow Wildlife Sanctuary, has since ceased to operate. British Camelids asserted in court that the original unincorporated charities no longer existed, and therefore, their shares in Midworth's estate should be transferred to British Camelids Limited and Cruelty Free, effectively narrowing the beneficiaries down to just two charities rather than six.

However, Master McQuail clarified that a donation to a charitable 'unincorporated association' is legally recognised as a gift for the charity's operational purposes. He stated that although the charity numbers in Midworth's will have changed, the current organisations still fulfil the same charitable missions as their predecessors did at the time the will was penned. Furthermore, the court dismissed British Camelids' claims that the original intended charities had strayed from their foundational goals, even highlighting an active link to the Libearty Bear Sanctuary webcam as evidence.

The legal team representing the charities was led by partner and Chair Paul Hewitt, alongside associate Rosalind Russell and barrister Owen Curry of XXIV Old Buildings. In reflection of the outcome, Paul extended gratitude on behalf of the Brooke, Born Free, and World Animal Protection, praising Ms Midworth's generosity. He emphasised how the court's decision reaffirmed that these charities remained the beneficiaries she intended to support. Paul added, “It is regrettable that British Camelids considered it appropriate to try and exclude the other charities for its own gain (and at considerable cost). Master McQuail's judgment means that Ms Midworth's intentions will be upheld and that all the existing charities will benefit from her generosity.”