A court case involving a £1.9 million inheritance that has pitched alpacas against donkeys and bears should serve as a reminder of the need for care and attention when leaving gifts to charities in a Will.
The case followed the death of a conservationist, animal lover and director of the British Llama and Alpaca Association, Candia Midworth, and her £1.9 million estate that she left to six different animal charities.
Her Will directed her estate to leave gifts to the six charities, including those that supported captive bears, a hospital that cared for working horses and donkeys, the British Llama and Alpaca Association and the Born Free Foundation.
Unfortunately, three of the charities named in her Will did not exist in the exact way she stated or had since closed, resulting in the British Llama and Alpaca Association challenging the will, claiming those gifts for itself.
Midworth, who lived in Surrey, kept and bred llamas on her farm from the 1980s and was an active member of the British Llama and Alpaca Association, editing its magazine, the Camelid Chronicle. She died in 2022, having last updated her Will in 1994.
Lawyers for the British Llama and Alpaca Association argued that the wording of her Will was simple and that the gifts were “expressly subject to the condition that the named legatees be in existence at the date of Mrs Midworth’s death in order to benefit”.
But lawyers for the other charities claimed that Midworth’s support to those charities during her lifetime and her Will meant that her estate should be distributed in the way she intended.
The judge agreed, concluding that the Will should be interpreted as a desire to “support charitable” purposes of the organisations named, regardless of the specific legal entity named.
Midworth’s Will additionally named one charity, Burstow Wildlife Sanctuary, that no longer exists. Here, the judge accepted that whilst the charity may not exist, its charitable purposes do. The judge, in a later ruling, will determine how that gift should be distributed between the five remaining charities.
Leaving gifts to charities
This case serves as a reminder to take care when leaving a gift to a charity. Bishop & Sewell recommend that:
- The current and official charity name and charity registration number is used in identifying the charity. This information can often be found on a charity’s website or the Charity Commission’s website.
- The Will should consider the position where charities merge or change their charitable status.
- Similarly, the Will should consider the position of a charity closing or collapsing. Should that gift go to a different or similar charity or simply be distributed in line with the rest of the estate?
- Update Wills regularly, typically every five years. In this case, Midworth’s Will was nearly three decades old and failed to reflect changes in the charity landscape.
Contact our Private Client Solicitors
For further advice or guidance on preparing a Will and leaving gifts to charity, contact our Private Client Solicitors.
If you are in need of advice or assistance on any of the legal issues mentioned in this article, please contact any member of our experienced Private Client team on 020 7631 4141 or email privateclient@bishopandsewell.co.uk
The above is accurate as at 18 September 2025. The information above may be subject to change.
The content of this note should not be considered legal advice, and each matter should be considered on a case-by-case basis.
