A complex High Court inheritance battle over the £2.7million estate of a wealthy bachelor has concluded, with two cousins successfully claiming a £2million fortune after heir hunters untangled a convoluted family history.
The Intestate Millionaire and the Heir Hunters
McDonald Noel, a shopkeeper and property tycoon born in Trinidad, emigrated to London in 1960 and died a rich man in April 2018 at the age of 84. Unmarried and without children, he left no will, meaning his substantial estate – including a £1.5million house in Kensington, West London – was initially set to pass to the government.
The potential size of the unclaimed estate attracted the attention of professional heir hunters from the firm Hoopers. Their investigation into McDonald's family tree, spanning the UK and the Caribbean, revealed a tangled genealogical web centred on his father's complicated love life.
A Convoluted Family Saga Unravels in Court
The legal dispute revolved around the paternity of children fathered by McDonald's father, Stanley Dorant. Stanley, born in Barbados in 1906, travelled frequently between Barbados and Trinidad, fathering children on both islands.
Four separate families came forward, all claiming descent from Stanley and therefore a right to a share of McDonald's intestate estate. The court was asked to conduct a rare 'kin enquiry' to determine the true blood relatives.
Judge Master Katherine McQuail presided over the trial, meticulously examining historical passenger manifests and birth records from the 1930s. Aidan Briggs, representing one claimant, cautioned the court against applying "middle-class English norms to a Caribbean setting," noting the social practice of attributing paternity for financial reasons, known as "giving a man a jacket."
The Judge's Ruling and the Victorious Heirs
In her ruling, Master McQuail stated that without conclusive DNA evidence for children born in the 1930s, she had to decide on the balance of probabilities based on available documentation.
She concluded that Stanley's biological children were McDonald, Francis, and St Clair Dorant only. This handed victory to Shaka Dorant (son of Francis) and Desiree Dorant (daughter of St Clair), who represented her four siblings. The judge found compelling evidence that Stanley was in Barbados with St Clair's mother, Clementina Forde, nine months before St Clair's birth in September 1936.
However, she ruled against the claims from descendants of Clyde Dorant and Stella Burton (McDonald's half-sister), finding insufficient evidence to prove Stanley's paternity in their cases. The judge noted that for Stella, the timings of Stanley's known travel to Trinidad did not convincingly align with her conception.
The court directed that McDonald Noel's multi-million-pound estate should be distributed among the descendants of his proven half-siblings, Francis and St Clair, bringing a close to a protracted and intricate legal fight over a forgotten fortune.
