On 19 October 2022 the Supreme Court handed down judgement on Guest v Guest [2022] UKSC 27.

Tom Dumont KC and William Moffett, instructed by Robert James and Richie Rees of Thrings, succeeded in overturning (in part) the Court of Appeal’s decision against their clients.

Guest v Guest is now the leading case on what the remedy should be in an estoppel claim, particularly where the parties have fallen out during their lifetimes.

The Supreme Court majority acceded to Tom and William’s argument that giving Andrew Guest, the full value now that he had been promised on his parents’ death, failed to do his parents justice. Instead, the Supreme Court ordered that his promised share in the farm, if paid out now, should be discounted to reflect his parents’ life expectancy. Alternatively, and at the clients’ choice, they could remain at the farm, farming it until their deaths, but on trust so that Andrew receives his full share then.