The death of a partner or close family member is always a difficult and emotional time. But what if you then find that the person died without a Will, or hadn’t updated it for many years, meaning that you have not been left what you think you are entitled to, or what the deceased would have wanted you to have?
With approximately 40% of adults not making a Will and many others failing to update their Will, that is the unfortunate position that countless people find themselves in. Luckily, and while by no means a perfect solution, help is available in the form of the Inheritance (Provision for Family & Dependants) Act 1975 (“the 1975 Act”).
The 1975 Act is a piece of legislation that allows certain categories of people to challenge what they consider to be insufficient financial provision made for them from a deceased person’s estate. The categories of people that the Act helps are:
- The spouse or civil partner of the deceased;
- A cohabitee who was living with the deceased for at least two years before the death;
- A child of the deceased, or someone that was treated as a child; and
- Any other person who was being financially maintained by the deceased before the death.
The aim of the 1975 Act is to provide the applicant with reasonable financial provision from the deceased’s estate, although the meaning of this will differ for each category of person.
If you find yourself in this situation, our specialist Will, Trust and Disputes team has considerable expertise and experience in pursuing such claims. The majority of such claims are ultimately resolved without the matter proceeding to trial, although we believe it is important to always prepare and proceed on the assumption that the matter may end up in Court. We, therefore, pay particular attention to gathering all relevant evidence and information necessary to pursue a claim at an early stage in the process.