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DNA evidence and family records support competing claims to Noel’s fortune
McDonald Noel, a wealthy London bachelor who died in 2018, aged nearly 84, left behind a £2.7 million estate without a will, spouse or children. Noel, who emigrated from Trinidad to London in 1960, was a shopkeeper and property tycoon. Noel’s estate included a Kensington home valued at £1.5 million, according to The Independent. Heir hunters identified potential relatives across the UK and Caribbean, but competing claims over their family connections have led to a High Court dispute over who should inherit his £2.7 million fortune.
The claimants include Gerard Burton, Stella’s son, who argues that his mother was Stanley’s daughter and therefore Noel’s full sister. Years later, his fortune has become the subject of a High Court dispute over who qualifies as his rightful heir. The case centres on DNA evidence, family records and questions about the relationships of his father, Stanley Dorant, who fathered children in Trinidad and Barbados. He could potentially receive the entire estate if the court accepts that claim. Francis’s son, Shaka, is also seeking a share. Desiree Dorant, representing St Clair’s children, and Tyler Dorant, representing Clyde’s grandchildren, maintain that their branches are descended from Stanley and should inherit.
McDonald Noel’s £2.7 million estate becomes the subject of a High Court dispute
In a judgment handed down on 23 December 2025, Master McQuail found that Stanley Dorant’s biological children were McDonald Noel, St Clair and Francis only. As a result, Gerard Burton did not inherit the whole estate and Tyler Dorant’s claim failed.
The dispute has since been resolved, according to the UK National Archives. Their investigation uncovered competing claims from several branches of his extended family, prompting a High Court inquiry into his ancestry and the evidence supporting each claimant’s relationship to Noel. The court was not satisfied, on the balance of probabilities, that Stanley fathered Clyde or Stella. For Stella, the judge noted that Stanley’s name was absent from her birth certificate and that the DNA evidence was only weakly supportive. For Clyde, there was no evidence that Stanley was in Barbados when Clyde was conceived, and no DNA sample was provided by any of his descendants. The court directed that the estate be distributed among the issue of McDonald’s half-siblings: Shaka Dorant, as Francis’s son, and Desiree Dorant and her siblings, as St Clair’s children.
Lawyers disagree over whether Stanley fathered all the children named in the case
Briggs said the DNA evidence supported the claims of Stella and Francis but challenged those of Clyde and St Clair. Aidan Briggs, representing Shaka, urged the judge to approach the claims differently. He argued that Stanley was named as the father on only two birth certificates, those of Noel and Francis. He also cautioned against treating family beliefs or Stanley’s role in the children’s lives as proof of biological paternity. He argued that the court must be satisfied, on the balance of probabilities, that Stanley fathered the other children. Master Katherine McQuail heard the case as part of a rare legal kin enquiry.