KEY POINTS:
David Bain will seek to get his family inheritance back if he is proved innocent.
The inheritance, which included the proceeds of the sale of his parents' section, was distributed to members of his extended family after his conviction in 1995.
It is estimated to be less than $65,000, the section being the only asset after the Bain home in Dunedin - where his parents and siblings were murdered - was razed at the request of the extended family and approved by Bain when he was in prison.
By law, a person cannot benefit from a crime. But Bain's lawyer, Michael Reed QC, said claiming back the inheritance would be part of any compensation claim if Bain was proved innocent.
He said it was a difficult issue which was yet to be resolved, but "hopefully and in addition to any ultimate compensation, he will be able to claim his inheritance back".
Speaking to the Herald on Sunday from the Bay of Islands yesterday, Bain campaigner Joe Karam said while he had no idea how much the inheritance was, the extended family were legally entitled to it at the time.
"David was in prison, if illegally in prison. They got it legally, so really I think it is something the Government has to make good."
Top defence lawyer Peter Williams QC, who played a key role in Arthur Allan Thomas' pardon and compensation, said "everything was scheduled in" to Thomas' claim, including economic loss, loss of wages, loss of potential earnings and comparable payouts.
Any compensation for Bain was likely to come from the Government by way of an ex gratia payment, and the inheritance could be factored into that, he said. The case is next in court on July 26.
