Legal professional privilege (‘privilege’) gives people the right to keep certain information in legal matters confidential.
The issue of when you can exercise legal privilege was examined in the case of Birdseye v Roythorne & Co [2015], which concerned a dispute over a farm after the owner’s death.
Birdseye v Roythorne & Co
Case background
One of the executors of the Will held that certain documents should be kept confidential from the beneficiaries of the estate, as they referred to matters protected by legal professional privilege.
The Court therefore had to examine whether the executor had the right to assert this privilege against the beneficiaries of the estate.
Generally, an executor cannot always assert privilege against a beneficiary, except in certain circumstances such as where the information in question is in relation to litigation with the beneficiary.
In this case, the Judge did not allow the executor to assert privilege and dismissed his application, meaning the documents could be revealed to the beneficiaries.
The implication of this judgement is that as long as someone can prove that they are a beneficiary of the estate, they are entitled to review documents relating to the estate held by the executor, unless the beneficiary is the other party to litigation.
The judgement is therefore significant to anyone involved in a dispute over a Will, as it may enable access to information that could be useful for your case.
How Nelsons can help
Kevin Modiri is a Partner in our expert Inheritance Disputes team.
Should you have any queries relating to the topics discussed in this article, please do not hesitate to contact Kevin or another member of the team in Derby, Leicester or Nottingham on 0800 024 1976 or via our online form.