Britain's Supreme Court sided against Heather Ilott, a mother of five from Herfordshire, who had won 160,000 pounds (USD 195,000) from a lower court after her mother left her out of her will.
The ruling was a victory for the Blue Cross, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. The charities said today that the ruling confirmed the "right to choose who will inherit when we die."