• March 28, 2024
 Elizabeth Hurley’s Son Wins Case To Be Included In Family Trust

gavel and legal scales

Elizabeth Hurley’s Son Wins Case To Be Included In Family Trust

It has been revealed that Elizabeth Hurley’s son, Damian, has won a long-fought legal battle with his estranged millionaire grandfather in regards to an inheritance trust that aimed to cut certain grandchildren out.

The trust’s creator, Dr Peter Bing, sought to prevent Damian from accessing the inheritance, originally set up to support his grandchildren, because he was born out of wedlock.

The trust was set up in 1980 to help ‘benefit future grandchildren’ who were born or adopted at a young age by his children, Steve Bing and Mary Bing.

However, following a number of Steve’s children being born out of wedlock, the conservative grandfather looked to contextualise his interpretation of the term ‘grandchild’ in the trust.

Later iterations claimed that children born out of wedlock and/or did not live in the parent’s family home on a consistent basis would be excluded from the trust.

This would mean that Steve’s children, Damian and half sister Kira Kerkorian, daughter of former tennis professional Lisa Bonder, would be omitted from the trust and their entitlement to the financial provisions within the terms of the trust.

Dr Peter Bing first attempted to enforce his interpretation of a grandchild and therefore omit Steve’s children in March.

Unfortunately for the conservative millionaire doctor, an LA judge ruled that Damian and any other future progeny born out of wedlock would be considered a rightful beneficiary of the family trust.

Dr Bing claimed that he had never met Damian and does not want him to inherit as part of the trust. The presiding judge claimed that the terms of the trust are unambiguous in their use of the term ‘grandchild’. The blood relation who is recognised as such by the child’s father further added to the legitimacy of Damian’s case.

Having initially rejected paternity following the whirlwind affair with Elizabeth Hurley in 2001, businessman Steve Bing, worth an estimated £456 million himself, has shared custody for the majority of Damian’s life.

Whilst the trust may have been set up with the best of intentions, it is clear that this financial gesture could become even more acrimonious and divisive in the future.

Judge Daniel Juarez, presiding judge on the case, commented:

“There is no ambiguity in the trust’s use of the term ‘grandchild’.

“The trustee’s interpretation of the trust is unreasonable, and the trustee’s construction of ‘grandchild’ is simply unfounded.”

Would a clear definition of the term ‘grandchild’ allow the trustee to create an exclusive list of beneficiaries? Can a trustee exclude relations like this in the modern world so familiar with modern family structures?

Martin Parrin