A mother-of-two who was abandoned as a baby and left nothing in her millionaire father's will has won £123,000 after a High Court battle. Emma McDaniel, 40, had been cut out of Mark Talbot's 2014 will, which left his entire £1.75 million estate to his wife, Rosemary Talbot.
Mr Talbot walked out when Emma was eight months old and went on to become a millionaire through property investments and businesses. Despite reconciling with Emma in 2019 and forming a close relationship, he never updated his will before his death in October 2022 at age 63.
Emma, who has two disabled children and health issues including autism and fibromyalgia, relied on state benefits. She brought a claim under the Inheritance Act for reasonable financial provision. Judge Caroline Shea KC ruled that Emma's care for her father and grandmother gave her a moral claim, and that she was in need of the money.
The judge rejected arguments from Rosemary Talbot that the father-daughter relationship was merely a friendship. She noted both women were affected by Mark's death but found it unreasonable that the will made no provision for Emma's maintenance.
