Administration of estatesIntestate parents murdered by son - son disqualified by public policy from inheriting their estates as nearest next of kin - murderer's son not entitled to deceased's estatesIn re S and another, decd; S (A Child) v G and others: CA (Simon Brown, Aldous and Sedley LJJ): 9 November 2000The claimant's father was convicted of murdering his parents, who died intestate, and was therefore disqualified by public policy from benefiting from their estates.

The claimant, a child, applied for a declaration that he was entitled to his paternal grandparents' estates contingently on attaining the age of 18.

Blackburne J [2000] 2 All ER 83 refused the application.

The claimant appealed.

Francis Barlow (instructed by Crombie Wilkinson, York) for the claimant.

James Barker (instructed by Hague & Dixon, Pickering) for the defendants.

Held, dismissing the appeal, that where an only child, who was convicted of murdering his parents, was disqualified by public policy from benefiting from his intestate parents' estate as sole next of kin, s.47(1)(i) of the Administration of Estates Act 1925 prevented the child's issue from taking the deceased's estate under the rules of intestate succession, so that the estate devolved to the deceased's collateral relatives.