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If you find yourself excluded from a Will or you are unhappy with the provision a Will makes for you, you may have grounds to make a claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 (more commonly known as the Inheritance Act).
If a person dies without a Will, they will be ‘intestate’, and their estate will pass in accordance with the rules of intestacy. If the result of these rules is that adequate provision has not been made for someone, they may also be able to bring a claim under the Inheritance Act.
The Inheritance Act allows certain categories of claimants to challenge the distribution of a deceased person's estate if they believe that adequate provision is not made for them. The Inheritance Act enables eligible claimants, such as spouses, cohabitees, children, and other dependents, to seek a court order for a fairer distribution of the estate.
At Johnson Astills, our solicitors can assist with Inheritance Act claims by providing legal guidance and representation to clients seeking to challenge or defend the provision made by a Will or the rules of intestacy. With expertise in the law regarding inheritance, and dispute resolution, we will ensure you understand your rights and help you pursue or defend an appropriate distribution of assets.
To speak to a member of our team about bringing or defending a claim under the Inheritance Act, please contact our local offices in Leicester and Loughborough or use our contact form to request a call back.
At Johnson Astills, our Inheritance Act claims solicitors have many years of experience helping our clients achieve the right outcome for their estate disputes under even the most challenging circumstances.
The team is headed by senior solicitor Laura Anderson, who has over a decade of legal experience and specialises in Inheritance Act claims for reasonable financial provision.
We are Lexcel accredited by the Law Society for the high standards of our legal practices and are independently regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA).
If you are the spouse or civil partner of the deceased, and the distribution of their estate will not make reasonable provision for you, you can ask the court to make an order varying it. In this way, the aim of the Inheritance Act is to ensure that surviving spouses or civil partners are adequately provided for after their partner's death, whether or not the provision is required for maintenance.
To make a claim, you must be able to demonstrate that the provision made for you, by the Will or intestacy rules, is not reasonable, considering factors such as the size and nature of the estate, your financial resources and current and future financial needs, your standard of living, and the financial resources and needs of other beneficiaries and applicants. The court will then decide whether to adjust the distribution of assets to provide a fairer and more reasonable provision for the surviving spouse or civil partners.
When deciding a claim by a surviving spouse or civil partner, the court can take into account what they may have received if the relationship had ended by divorce/dissolution, rather than through death. In this way, spouses and civil partners can have a strong claim under the Inheritance Act, as the Court will generally expect them to be provided for to a greater extent than other categories of claimants.
If you are a former spouse or civil partner of the deceased, an Inheritance Act claim may enable you to seek reasonable financial provision from the estate of your late ex-partner, if needed for maintenance.
This option may be available if the deceased did not have a Will or failed to adequately provide for you in their Will, so long as you have not entered into a subsequent marriage or civil partnership.
Clauses in pre-nuptial agreements, or divorce or dissolution settlements may seek to prevent a former spouse/civil partner from taking legal action. Seeking expert legal advice at an early stage can help you check your eligibility and navigate the process of making an Inheritance Act claim.
If you are a child of the deceased, including biological and adopted children, or if you were treated as a child by the deceased (such as a stepchild), you may be able to make an Inheritance Act claim.
This allows you to challenge the distribution of the deceased's estate if you feel you have not received reasonable financial provision. The court will consider various factors, including your financial needs and the deceased's obligations towards you, to determine whether the distribution should be varied to make better provision for you.
It is important to note that an adult child who inherits little or nothing will not automatically be successful in their claim. Such claimants will have their claim assessed on the basis of need and their parent’s obligations towards them.
Claims by children who were estranged from their late parent can therefore be difficult to pursue, and it is advisable to consult with an experienced solicitor before embarking on expensive court proceedings.
As a cohabitee you will be eligible to bring an Inheritance Act claim if you lived continually with the deceased, as if you were spouses/civil partners, for the two years before their passing.
As cohabitees do not automatically inherit under intestacy rules, the Inheritance Act can be especially important to ensure that they are adequately maintained after the death of their partner.
It is important to note that periods of involuntary separation, such as work trips or hospital stays, do not mean that the 2 years’ requirement is not met. However, if you voluntarily moved out and stopped living together, that would stop the two-year period or may re-start the clock if you then started to live together again.
If you do not fall within one of the above categories of claimant, you may still be able to bring an Inheritance Act claim if you can show that you were being maintained by the deceased.
That maintenance can take many forms, such as contributing to housing costs, paying debts, covering school fees, or providing regular financial support.
Dependants looking to bring a claim must demonstrate their reliance on the financial arrangement and provide evidence of the basis upon which that support was being offered.
The Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 allows certain individuals to make claims against an estate if they believe they have not been adequately provided for in the deceased's Will or under the rules of intestacy.
It aims to ensure that dependants, such as spouses, children, and cohabitees receive reasonable financial provision from the estate.
The Act gives the court discretion to redistribute the assets of the deceased to achieve fairness and meet the needs of those who may have been excluded or inadequately provided for.
The people who are legally eligible to make a claim under the Inheritance Act include:
It is important to note that whilst people in these categories are eligible to bring a claim, they will not necessarily be successful, and whether an alternative distribution is ordered will depend on the circumstances of their case. Seeking legal advice at an early stage is sensible to determine the merits of your claim.
An Inheritance Act claim must be issued within six months of the Grant of Probate (or the Grant of Letters of Administration) being taken out for the deceased’s estate.
It is important to seek legal advice as far in advance of this six-month deadline as possible, as it will take time to prepare the claim.
If you miss the six-month window, you may be able to ask the court to allow you further time. However, you must explain the delay to the court and obtain their permission.
For help and advice on any matter related to settling Inheritance Act claims, get in touch with our solicitors by contacting our local offices in Leicester and Loughborough, or use our contact form to request a call back.
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