Thellusson v Woodford · English Court of Chancery · 1799

Is the will valid?

Short answer: Yes: but Parliament banned it afterward.

The facts. A rich merchant died in 1797, leaving his fortune to pile up for generations, then go to future descendants he would never meet. It could have become one of the largest fortunes in Britain. His family sued.

The ruling. Thellusson v Woodford (1799): The court upheld the will, and the House of Lords agreed in 1805. By then Parliament had already passed the Accumulations Act to stop such schemes in the future.

The dispute over who actually inherited went on until 1859, with legal costs eating up the growth. It's often said to have inspired Bleak House's Jarndyce v Jarndyce.

Read the source

For fun, not legal advice.