If a person dies without making financial provision for family members who are dependent on them, it may be possible for them to claim against the estate under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975.
However, for a claim to succeed, it has to be reasonable in all the circumstances. Recently, a claim lodged against the estate of a deceased man by his spouse (from whom he had been separated for 20 years) and his disabled daughter was rejected by the court. The man’s wife and daughter, who suffers from mental illness, live together although his daughter wishes to live independently when she feels able to do so.
When the couple parted, they had made a separation agreement which provided a capital sum for the wife and daughter. The man had also provided his daughter with a small monthly allowance. He later entered into a new relationship which lasted until his death. He had made a new will leaving his entire estate to his new partner. At the date of his death, his estate (net of Inheritance Tax) was worth more than £500,000.
In view of the very long time that had elapsed since the financial settlement made when the couple separated, and the facts that her father’s death had triggered a small annuity for his daughter and put her in line for a bequest from her grandmother that she would not otherwise have received, the judge rejected the claims of the mother and daughter outright.
Partner Note
Hope and Hope v Knight [2010] EWHC 3443 (Ch). See