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Case file s1778 · Literature and art · 2011
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2011
Lucian Freud: LucienFreud
Lucian Freud. procsilas. CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons.
Died
20 July 2011
Place
London · United Kingdom
Field
painter · Visual art and architecture on the timeline
Legal tradition
English law · Common law
Historical event
Rawstron v Freud, High Court, 2014
Religion
Lucian Freud: Jewish (recorded as Jewish painters on Wikipedia)
Member of
American Academy of Arts and Sciences, American Academy of Arts and Letters (Wikidata)
Literature and artSecret children and false heirsNowEuropeUnited Kingdom

Lucian Freud left a 96 million pound estate to his solicitor and one daughter, and a High Court judge refused to open the will to a son who was one of at least 14 children

Lucian Freud signed his last will on 10 May 2006. It revoked a 2004 will that had set up a half-secret trust. Clause 6 of the 2006 will gave the residue to two people by name, jointly: his solicitor Diana Rawstron and his daughter Rose Pearce, with no mention of a trust. His net UK estate was sworn at just under 96 million pounds; the residue was about 42 million. He left 2.5 million pounds and his London house to his assistant David Dawson. At least 14 children survived him. One, Paul McAdam Freud, was told he was not a beneficiary and asked the court to compel disclosure. Deputy Judge Richard Spearman QC heard the case on 19 May 2014 and ruled on 30 July 2014 for the executrices. The ruling held that the will gave the residue to the two women without stating a trust, so the half-secret trust argument failed. The two women said the residue is held under a private arrangement in which Rawstron does not benefit and the defendant is not a beneficiary. The beneficiaries remain unnamed in 2026†.

What the law took from it

A residue given outright to two named people can carry a private arrangement no court will make them reveal.

Sources
  1. The National Archives, Find Case LawCourt record
  2. artlyst.comPress
  3. artlyst.comPress
  4. Artnet NewsPress

Cite as: celebrity.estate, “Lucian Freud left a 96 million pound estate to his solicitor and one daughter, and a High Court judge refused to open the will to a son who was one of at least 14 children,” story s1778, https://www.celebrity.estate/lucian-freud-2011, updated 30 October 2026.

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Where this case sits

Literature and artSecret children and false heirsNowEuropeCommon lawUnited Kingdom