A London bachelor died with a £2.7 million estate and no will in 2018; a High Court DNA battle over his father’s relationships decided who inherited the fortune

McDonald Noel, a wealthy London bachelor who died in 2018, aged nearly 84, left behind a £2.7 million estate without a will, spouse or children. Years later, his fortune has become the subject of a High Court dispute over who qualifies as his rightful heir. The case centres on DNA evidence, family records and questions about the relationships of his father, Stanley Dorant, who fathered children in Trinidad and Barbados. Noel, who emigrated from Trinidad to London in 1960, was a shopkeeper and property tycoon.According to The Independent, Noel’s estate included a Kensington home valued at £1.5 million. Heir hunters identified potential relatives across the UK and Caribbean, but competing claims over their family connections have led to a High Court dispute over who should inherit his £2.7 million fortune.McDonald Noel's £2.7 million estate becomes the subject of a High Court disputeMcDonald Noel died in London in April 2018, leaving a gross estate valued at £2.7 million. The estate included a Kensington property worth £1.5 million. Noel was born in Trinidad in 1934 and moved to London in 1960. He died at the age of nearly 84 without a spouse, children or a will. His death left the question of inheritance unresolved.Without eligible relatives, his fortune was destined for government coffers. However, heir hunters from a firm called Hoopers began investigating his family tree to identify potential beneficiaries in the UK and Caribbean. Their investigation uncovered competing claims from several branches of his extended family, prompting a High Court inquiry into his ancestry and the evidence supporting each claimant's relationship to Noel.Stanley Dorant’s family relationships become central to the £2.7 million inheritance battleStanley Dorant, Noel's father, was born in Barbados in 1906 and died in Trinidad in 1968. Noel's mother, Neutrice Dorant, had another child, Stella, in 1933, before Noel's birth the following year. Neutrice died in 1938. Stanley later married Clementina Forde in 1939 after she joined him in Trinidad.Clementina already had two sons, Clyde and St Clair, while Stanley and Clementina also had a son, Francis. Descendants of these family members disagree over whether Stanley fathered all the children attributed to him. Documentary records show that Stanley travelled between Trinidad and Barbados and fathered children on both islands.DNA evidence and family records support competing claims to Noel's fortuneThe claimants include Gerard Burton, Stella's son, who argues that his mother was Stanley's daughter and therefore Noel's full sister. He could potentially receive the entire estate if the court accepts that claim. Francis's son, Shaka, is also seeking a share. Desiree Dorant, representing St Clair's children, and Tyler Dorant, representing Clyde's grandchildren, maintain that their branches are descended from Stanley and should inherit.Lawyers presented DNA results, historical records, and witness evidence to support their respective positions. Daniel Burton, representing Desiree and her siblings, argued that the evidence supported Stanley's paternity of Clyde and St Clair. He cited historical travel records and DNA evidence in support of their claims to the estate.Lawyers disagree over whether Stanley fathered all the children named in the caseAidan Briggs, representing Shaka, urged the judge to approach the claims differently. He argued that Stanley was named as the father on only two birth certificates, those of Noel and Francis. He also cautioned against treating family beliefs or Stanley's role in the children's lives as proof of biological paternity.Briggs said the DNA evidence supported the claims of Stella and Francis but challenged those of Clyde and St Clair. He argued that the court must be satisfied, on the balance of probabilities, that Stanley fathered the other children. Master Katherine McQuail heard the case as part of a rare legal kin enquiry.Who inherited McDonald Noel’s £2.7 million estate after the High Court rulingAccording to the UK National Archives, the dispute has since been resolved. In a judgment handed down on 23 December 2025, Master McQuail found that Stanley Dorant’s biological children were McDonald Noel, St Clair and Francis only. The court was not satisfied, on the balance of probabilities, that Stanley fathered Clyde or Stella. For Stella, the judge noted that Stanley’s name was absent from her birth certificate and that the DNA evidence was only weakly supportive.For Clyde, there was no evidence that Stanley was in Barbados when Clyde was conceived, and no DNA sample was provided by any of his descendants. As a result, Gerard Burton did not inherit the whole estate and Tyler Dorant’s claim failed. The court directed that the estate be distributed among the issue of McDonald’s half-siblings: Shaka Dorant, as Francis’s son, and Desiree Dorant and her siblings, as St Clair’s children.You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test.