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RSPCA appeals High Court judgment on £1m will 1

Fundraising | Vibeka Mair | 25 Nov 2010

RSPCA yesterday appealed a High Court judgment which saw the charity lose a battle over a will worth nearly £1m.

The case revolved around the will of George Mason, who divided his estate, worth almost £1m, between the RSPCA, his brother John and two friends, Norman and Patricia.

The RSPCA argued that Mason wished to bequeath £300,000 to his friends and family and leave the rest of his estate for the RSPCA, as he wanted to avoid all recipients having to pay inheritance tax.

However, the High Court judge Mr Justice Peter Smith sided with the family who believed Mason wished to leave them his house on top of the £300,000, bringing the sum total to £469,000, over the threshold for inheritance tax.The ruling meant the charity would get a legacy of £370,153 instead of £651,820.

RSPCA has this week announced that it will appeal the judgment.

Withers law firm, which is acting on behalf of the RSPCA, issued a statement on behalf of the charity saying:

"The RSPCA is appealing this judgment because we remain committed to honouring Mr Mason’s clear intentions in his will.  We firmly believe Mr Mason wanted to benefit all those named in his will and make sure no-one would pay inheritance tax.  Read properly, his will achieves this.

“Unless the Court of Appeal reverses the judge’s decision, Mr Mason’s estate will pay more than £100,000 inheritance tax.  We believe that achieves the opposite effect of what Mr Mason intended. We believe it is clear that he wanted to benefit his friends, brother and charity and avoid anyone paying inheritance tax.”

“At the original trial the Judge, Peter Smith, wrongly accused the RSPCA of trying to make the family pay inheritance tax.  Nobody had ever suggested, least of all the RSPCA, that Mr and Mrs Sharpe, and Mr John Mason, should pay inheritance tax.  

"We tried to resolve this matter including repeated offers of face-to-face meetings to sort the matter out but these offers were refused.  We believe it was unfair for the Judge to ignore those efforts and to penalise RSPCA on costs.

“Ultimately we have an obligation to respect the wishes of our benefactors.  We remain extremely grateful to Mr Mason for his generosity in remembering our work fighting cruelty to animals."

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