The mystery love life of a wealthy bachelor’s father is at the centre of a dramatic inheritance battle over his multi-million pound estate.
McDonald Noel, who was born in Trinidad but emigrated to London in 1960, left behind a £2.7million estate when he died aged 84 in 2018.
But the unmarried man had no children and left no will, sparking a High Court inheritance row involving heir hunters, DNA testing and an investigation into the puzzling ‘romantic life’ of his father.
The size of Mr Noel’s estate attracted the interest of heir hunters, who delved into his family tree in the UK and the Caribbean, but stumbled across a tangled genealogical web involving potential ‘love children’.
Mr Noel’s father, Stanley Dorant, plays a pivotal role in the case amid a probe into how many children he fathered and with whom.
Mr Dorant had relationships with both Mr Noel’s mother, Neutrice Dorant, and a second partner, Clementina Forde – and it is the descendants of each who are battling over the estate.
Armed with the results of DNA tests, a High Court judge is being asked to carry out a rare legal ‘kin enquiry’ and rule on who should inherit.
The judge, Master Katherine McQuail, heard that Mr Noel – a shopkeeper and property tycoon – died in London in April 2018 intestate and without a spouse or children.
He left behind a fortune worth £2.7million, including his £1.5m house in Batoum Gardens, Hammersmith and Fulham.
McDonald Noel (pictured), who was born in Trinidad but emigrated to London in 1960, left behind a £2.7million estate when he died aged 84 in 2018
His fortune included his £1.5m house in Hammersmith and Fulham (second from right)
Mr Noel was born in 1934 to father Stanley Dorant and mother Neutrice Doran in Trinidad.
Neutrice already had one other child, Stella, who was born the previous year.
Stanley, originally from Barbados, then went on to father another son, Francis, with Barbadian Clementina Forde.
He married her in 1939 after she joined him in Trinidad following the death of Neutrice in 1938.
Clementina already had two sons, Clyde and St Clair, when she moved and married Stanley.
But their descendants are now claiming that Stanley was their dad too, having fathered them during visits to Barbados or before he left.
Francis’s son, Shaka, is now laying claim to a share of the millions based on Clementina’s relationship with Stanley.
But so is Stella’s son, Gerard Burton, who says he should potentially get the lot, should the court be satisfied that his mother Stella was also Stanley’s child.
This would make Stella Mr Noel’s full sister rather than a half-sister.
But St Clair’s children, represented by his daughter Desiree Dorant, and Clyde’s grandchildren, represented by his grandson Tyler Dorant, are insisting that they too are descended from Stanley and should share the estate.
Daniel Burton, for Desiree and her siblings, told the judge: ‘It is the romantic life of McDonald’s father Stanley which is central to the genealogical questions which arise in this case.
‘Stanley was born in Barbados in 1906 and died in Trinidad in 1968. The documentary records show that he travelled between Trinidad and Barbados and fathered children on each island.
Pictured is St Clair Dorant with his wife. It is known that his mother was Clementina Forde, but it is being probed whether his father was Stanley Dorant
‘The questions before this court in this trial are how many children Stanley fathered, with whom, and who they were.
‘It was a firm of heir hunters, Hoopers, who started to identify possible beneficiaries of McDonald’s estate.
‘The outcome will determine whether Gerard is the sole beneficiary of McDonald’s estate or whether other branches of the family – those of Shaka, Desiree and Tyler – take as beneficiaries under the rules of intestacy alongside Gerard.’
He told the judge that documentary evidence suggested Stanley and Clementina were from the same area and knew each other before he left Barbados for Trinidad.
‘The court is invited to conclude that Clementina’s initial liaison with Stanley in Barbados resulted in the birth of Clyde,’ he said, adding that a historical ship manifest showed Stanley had visited Barbados seven months before the birth of St Clair.
‘There is compelling evidence that Stanley was St Clair’s father. This is documentary evidence, witness evidence and DNA evidence,’ he added, claiming that together that evidence ‘refutes Shaka’s insinuation that (Clementina) would have had two children with a different partner or partners, then immediately marry Stanley, thereby passing off the children as his.’
He told the judge: ‘Put simply, Clementina was not that kind of person and strove to be a good role model for her children. She had one relationship and married that man, Stanley, after bearing his first two children.
‘There is no other credible hypothesis that St Clair’s father is anyone other than Stanley.
‘The court is invited to make findings of fact or direct that McDonald’s estate be distributed on the basis that Stanley fathered McDonald, Clyde, St Clair and Francis,’ he concluded.
Aidan Briggs, for Francis’ son Shaka, however urged the judge to take a different view.
Desiree Dorant (pictured) is representing the children of St Clair, who they claim Stanley fathered
Clyde Dorant, a son of Clementina Forde. It is being investigated whether Stanley Dorant was his father
‘There are only two children on whose birth certificate Stanley Dorant is named as the father; McDonald and Francis,’ he said.
‘Although it is possible that Stanley fathered other children, the evidence which has been produced is equally consistent with him being treated as ‘father’ after his marriage to Clementina, or being ‘claimed’ as father by Stella.’
He said the judge should be wary of accepting evidence about the beliefs of Clyde and St Clair as to their parentage from their descendants, saying: ‘A child self-evidently has no knowledge about their own conception’.
He told the judge that even if Stanley had acted as a father to all of the children, it shouldn’t be assumed they were his.
He said Stanley had lived in a society in which relationships outside of marriage were common and there was a trend for ‘mothers attributing paternity to men particularly for financial reasons – what is referred to in the British Caribbean as ‘giving a man a jacket’.’
‘It’s important not to apply middle-class English norms to a Caribbean setting,’ he said.
‘The court shouldn’t be drawn into the trap of assuming that a person would act in a particular way because in the same period there would be a stigma attached to a child out of wedlock in England.’
He added: ‘The DNA evidence supports Stella and Francis’ claims, and should encourage the court against the claims of Clyde and St Clair.
‘The court must be satisfied on the balance of probabilities that Stanley had any other children. The claimant’s (Shaka’s) submission is that the court cannot be so satisfied on the evidence presented.’
The judge will give her ruling on the case at a later date.
