Brian has been trying to convince Adam that he’d like to buy more land in order to benefit all of his children.
It’s a commendable motivation – the more you have, the more you can pass on to the next generation. But when it comes to inheritance, things get complicated at Home Farm.
Who are all of Brian’s children?
Of the five ‘Home Farm children’ – Adam, Debbie, Kate, Alice and Ruairi – only Kate and Alice are Jennifer and Brian’s biological offspring.
Jennifer had Adam when she was 22 years old – an illegitimate pregnancy that rocked Ambridge at the time. Adam’s biological father, Paddy Redmond, hasn’t featured in his life.
Debbie is the daughter of Jennifer and her first husband, Roger Travers-Macy. Confusingly, Adam has taken the surname of Macy and Debbie, Aldridge.
Ruairi is the product of Brian’s affair with Siobhan Donovan. When Siobhan died, Ruairi joined the Home Farm household.
Who will inherit what?
For years it was pretty straightforward: a cottage and a lump sum each to Kate and Alice, and the Home Farm business to Adam and Debbie. But then in 2008, Brian decided to change his will so that the farm would be split three ways.
Ruairi’s birth in itself was a huge upset for the Home Farm clan and this announcement resurrected old anxieties and concerns. Adam and Debbie were confronted with sharing what they’d been expecting to inherit with Ruairi – who at the time was only five years old. For Brian, the impulse was too strong to resist: his only biological son must inherit from his dear old dad.
As a sweetener, Brian made Adam and Debbie unit managers of their responsibilities at Home Farm. Supposedly, this would give each of them more autonomy. Though, so far there doesn’t seem to have been much let up in Brian having his say!
Could things change again?
Buying more land means there will be more for Brian to pass on to the next generation. But how will this pan out? How will the farm be shared between Adam and Debbie and Ruairi? Will Ruairi (now 14 years old) even have a long-term interest in farming?
What about Alice and Kate? (Their inheritance was set when neither of them had an interest in the farm but now, Kate has a business based at Home Farm and Alice is now working in the agricultural sector.)
Most of all, will Brian be able to satisfy all of his children and meet his own desire of providing a suitable legacy to his true heir?
Brian and Adam have worked side-by-side for years but that doesn't mean they always get on
