Estrangement from brother and death of father
Birley became pregnant in 2004 and her brother Robin paid former London police officers who claimed to be private detectives more than £400,000 from the accounts of Annabel's in exchange for false information about her then partner, and the father of her child, Robert Macdonald. The investigation was to establish whether Macdonald had a financial motive behind his relationship with India Jane. Mark Birley fell out with Robin following the revelation. Mark Birley sacked Robin from the management of his clubs after the fall out from the affair.
The investigators hired by Robin met India Jane in 2006 and alleged that they had information about her. India Jane described the meeting as " ... highly improbable, unreal, and very, very unpleasant ... It was very sinister. These people were thugs". She hired her own detective who informed her that Robin was behind the investigation which she described as " ... very cruel. The intent was to ruin Robert Macdonald. I would then seem to be influenced by a famous financial fraudster". The investigators hired by Robin gave him tapes of women claiming to be former lovers of Macdonald, the women were in fact drama students. India Jane described the tapes as "crackly and fuzzy and said that she "[couldn't] imagine anyone being taken in by that crap". Robin subsequently said that he felt he was "acting in the best interest of my sister ... My father was too ill at the time to have any additional worries". Macdonald later received an official apology from Robin and had all his legal bills paid with an additional cash settlement. Robin apologised to his sister and admitted that he had been mistaken in pursuing the investigation.
Mark Birley sold his clubs to the entrepreneur Richard Caring for £95 million shortly before his death in 2007. Birley became estranged from her brother Robin following their dispute over their father's will. Upon his death in 2007, Mark Birley left the majority of his estate — valued at £120 million — and his possessions to India Jane to be kept in trust for her son, Eben, in his will. Birley wrote a letter to India Jane explaining his reasoning behind his will. The letter said that he had sold his clubs to protect them from his son, Robin. A previous will had divided his estate equally between India Jane and Robin, with India Jane additionally receiving her father's house and possessions. The will was challenged by Robin Birley; he initially received two bequests free of tax for £1 million and £5 million. This was subsequently increased to £35 million following an out-of-court settlement.
Birley held an auction at Sotheby's of 500 items from her father's estate in March 2013. Robin Birley said that he was 'appalled' at her decision to sell their fathers things. Birley said that the auction was a difficult decision but that she "[would] like to think [my father] approves of the sale, for being an artist he understands my need to carve out my own space". The auction raised £3.85 million. Birley only became wealthy after her father died, as he had believed that they would be lazy had they inherited money at a young age. Birley said between her three marriages she survived by selling paintings and never took holidays or had nice clothes. Birley kept her father's ashes on a drinks tray next to some whisky saying that he would have been very happy there.
Birley sold Thurloe Lodge, her father's house in South Kensington, for £17 million in 2011. In 2011 Birley bought Charleston Manor in East Sussex. Charleston Manor was the estate of her paternal grandfather, the painter Sir Oswald Birley. Birley owns a large estate near Marrakech that her father had planned to develop shortly before his death.
