Do You Really Know What Will Happen To Your Property When You Die? Are You Absolutely Sure?

Many have believed that they were absolutely sure, only for their family to find themselves faced not only with the death of their loved one but a family dispute and an expensive and distressing legal wrangle when they needed it least.

Take the chap who thought that because he and ‘the missus ‘ had been together for 30 years she would get everything when he died. When he did die his next of kin and inheritor of his estate was his sister to whom he had not spoken for 25 years. This occurred because he and his lifetime partner never tied the knot legally and because he had never secured her position by the simple expedient of making a will.

Take the millionaire whose will was completed in a hurry before he dashed off to a remote part of the world where he died. He alone owned the family home and had left his wife only one 10th of his worldly wealth without considering her position. The result was an unseemly and expensive wrangle between the widow and her stepchildren to ensure that she had a reasonable share of her husband’s estate.

Yes, the lifetime partner and the young widow were awarded provision, perhaps less than they might have expected had the deceased taken proper advice and  time to consider the situation. They also got much heartache and the available monies were depleted by court and legal fees. The estranged sister still got a share.

They succeeded only because the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependents) Act 1975 (the Inheritance Act) gives the court powers in certain circumstances to re-write the will of a deceased person, or redistribute the estate otherwise in accordance with rules set down by the law  where there is no will.

To bring their claims they had to show that they were in one of a class of people specified by the Inheritance Act. These can include a spouse or civil partner or former spouse or civil partner, a child or someone who has been treated as a child of the deceased; someone who has lived with the deceased as though they had been their spouse or civil partner for the two years immediately before they died; or that they were not a specified relative but financially dependant upon the deceased at the time they died.

In addition they had to show that the provision made for them for by the will, or by the fact that the deceased did not make a will is not reasonable. A widow wealthy in her own right may have no claim if her husband omits her from his will.

The law says who may be eligible and what provision is reasonable according to certain rules and decided cases; the best way to find out if you might benefit is to take advice. But you must act quickly if you think you have a claim as the Inheritance Act says that you must usually have made your application to the court within six months of a grant of probate or letters of administration having been made to the estate.

Much anguish caused to loved ones can be avoided by the simple step of taking and following proper advice in relation to the making of a will.

So if you thought you knew what would happen to your money and property when you died, are you still so sure?

Christine Pilkington is a Senior AssociateSolicitor with Sedgwick Phelan & Partners and a specialist in inheritance disputes.
Contact Christine Pilkington on 0161 653 5299 or Christine.pilkington@sedgwick-phelan.co.uk for more advice if you are in  dispute about inheritance matters.