DanS, Author at The Inheritance Experts

There have been many government provisions for England and Wales that enable people to make Inheritance Act Claims. To bring a claim, a grant of probate means that only certain parties will fit within the circumstances of the case for compensation.

Below, we list some of the leading laws governing inheritance provision for the family. We’ll then turn briefly to who specifically can make a claim under the inheritance laws.

Critical Inheritance Acts Over The Years

Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975

This is the coup de graçe of all provisions regarding inheritance rights and claims. It attaches not just monetary assets as provisions of the deceased’s estate, but also any property and holdings.

Moreover, this can even include holdings disposed of in the six years prior to death.

Inheritance (Family Provision) Act 1938

The 1975 act is an update of the Inheritance (Family Provision) Act 1938. The 1938 version effectively establishes persons that can apply to the court for financial provision. In essence, the Act states the following.

Without overruling the terms of the will, it gave the surviving spouse and the dependent children the right to apply to the court for maintenance out of a deceased person’s estate.

Inheritance and Trustees’ Powers Act 2014

Time coupled with changing mores brought the law’s appreciation for modern family structures. The 2014 Act addresses matters equalising the rights of both a spouse/civil partner of the deceased to make a claim. It also tackles what had been more absolute rights of the spouse to the first £270,000 of an estate plus personal belongings.

Additionally, a child of the deceased gains additional rights to financial resources as a beneficiary of the estate. Now, the child does not need to enter into the parent/child relationship as a result of marriage.

Administration of Estates Act 1925

From the 1925 Act came many of the succeeding acts and amendments to modernise the law, too. Personal property (aka “Chattels real”) was finally coupled with real estate in the estate’s size and nature.

Here’s a relevant side note: This law repeals up to 12 different acts regarding estate circulation.

Who Can Make Inheritance Act Claims By Law?

According to the Inheritance Act 1975, certain people can offer claims according to their own personal obligations and responsibilities. These people are:

A spouse/civil partner of the deceased.
A former spouse/civil partner.
Children of the deceased, including children or adoption or those reasonably brought into a family.
Financial dependants of the deceased.
In certain cases, cohabitees, who nevertheless must meet certain criteria.

How Courts Review Inheritance Act Claims

In many circumstances, claims under The Inheritance Act can be resolved by mediation. Working together with all parties, you may not have to go to court.

That said, it’s not always true that your claim will avoid the court system. Accordingly, one question we often receive is about the procedure for inheritance act claims.

Basically, when someone makes these claims, there are several factors (aka Section 3 Factors) the court will weigh and judge.

First off, the court considers the claimant’s financial needs in both the present and foreseeable future.
Next, the court weighs the financial needs that any other claimant might have.
Additionally, they’ll look at the financial needs of any beneficiary of the estate.
Specifically, any financial obligations the late party had to any claimant/beneficiary under The Inheritance Act.
Another considerable factor is the size and nature of the estate left behind.
Not to mention, any eligible claimant/beneficiary who has a physical or mental disability.
Some other matters can become relevant. These include any so-called relevant behaviour(s) and conduct of the claimant or any other person.

Is There A Time Limit On Making Inheritance Act Claims?

Specifically, you have six months after the Grant of Representation (i.e. Grant of Probate) to make an Inheritance Act Claim.

Uniquely, it’s not out of the question that when this limit expires you cannot make a claim. First, you need to contact the court, who furthermore must grant your right to make such a claim. Of course, it’s much easier to stay within the half-year window and remove all doubt.

Speak With The Inheritance Experts

Speak today with one of our inheritance experts: we can help you build a solid inheritance act claims case. We can even help if you are an executor who is managing an estate under contest. Similarly, we understand Inheritance Tax and other financial affairs associated with the estate. For more on contesting a will and Inheritance Act claims, read about:

The process of contesting a will in England and Wales demands that you take several things into account. Namely, you need to take stock at the early stages to understand if the will is valid legally.

You’ll also need to check your own capabilities in handling potentially contentious probate. It won’t be easy with siblings, children, loved ones and all other parties added into the process. Furthermore, you’ll get into the weeds of some rather difficult issues.

Checking medical records of others (including the deceased party).
Investigating potential actions of undue influence.
Alternatively, understanding of what life looks like as a losing party after contesting a will.

Admittedly we have some bias on the matter of what kind of solicitors you should turn to. However, a no-win, no fee Inheritance Experts solicitor specialising in probate registry challenges definitely helps. Below, we’ll walk through elements of the process of contesting a will.

The importance of The Inheritance Act of 1975

For the sake of clarity, the above law’s long name is the Inheritance Provision for Family and Dependants Act 1975. In short, the Act is one of the most important legal documents pertaining to the process. The main thrust: stipulating the validity of a person to bring a claim against an estate.

Notably, as The Gazette puts it in challenging the myths of this law:

“the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependents) Act 1975 makes provision for a court to alter the distribution of the estate of a deceased person. …To any spouse, former spouse, child, child of the family or dependant of that person. …In cases where the deceased person’s will or the rules of intestacy fail to make ‘reasonable financial provision’.”

If the process goes forth, a claimant alleges the will didn’t make a reasonable financial provision for them. More recently, amendments to the law now account for the rights of civil partners in the process.

So who can undertake the process of contesting a will?

To summarise who has access to make a claim, take note of the following categories below.

Firstly, direct family members, including children or grandchildren.
Secondly, a spouse or civil partner can challenge a will.
Any beneficiaries (for this to occur, a previous will must specifically name the beneficiary in question).
Any person reliant on the deceased financially.
A person who expects an item by the late party, but the stipulation doesn’t show up in the will.
There’s also the matter that any creditor that the late party still owes money to is part of the process.

Essentially, being part of the family, being an ongoing beneficiary, or even a friend clearly helps your case.

What parameters allow you to enter the process of contesting a will?

Here, we’re going to address the four parameters you must meet before you contest a will.

Firstly, you need to have the legal right to contest the will.
Secondly, you must have a valid reason or sufficient grounds for contesting the will.
Third, you’ve made this contesting of the will before the time limit has run out.
Finally, you must raise sufficient evidence that supports your claim.

Which begs the question: have you met any of these requirements? If so, contact our inheritance specialists as soon as possible. In turn, you can make a challenge before the grant of probate. Probate, remember, means that the will has been proven to be valid.

Some of you will surely ask, What about contesting a will after probate? Yes: it can, and we address it on our Contesting a Will page.

How a solicitor helps you in the process of contesting a will

Your solicitor will work with you so that you understand all areas of the law.

One of the first steps to doing this is to apply for a copy of the death certificate. With that, you’ll have critical legal document information like name and last permanent address for the deceased.

Your solicitor will work with you to build up a strong case in your favour. The process will then move to mediation, and, beyond that, the court system.

What legal grounds allow you to contest a will?

The readers of our blog will note that we’ve written previously in Do I Have the Legal Right to Dispute a Will? Below, we share several legal grounds for contesting a will.

No valid execution of the will

If certain formalities are not met, a will may become invalid. Some include:

It needs to be in writing (typed or handwritten)
Additionally, it has the signature of one of two parties.
- Ideally, the testator his or herself, although this may not always be possible.
- Alternatively, another person signs the will in the testator’s presence (complete with his/her direction).
Moreover, when the testator signs the will, they truly want it to take effect.
Ultimately, these actions occur in the presence of a minimum of two witnesses.*

No knowledge or approval of the will

This reinforces the above scenario about the need for multiple witnesses.

Undue influence

Accordingly, you can challenge the will over undue influence. The fact is, some parties may exert undue influence over a vulnerable testator. If they’re not sound of mind, this can be an especially sensible set of grounds for a challenge.

Revocation

Intention is critical when ruling for revocation of the will.

Effectively, a will is invalid if the destruction of the will occurs. There are two key factors in proving this with your challenge.

First, either the testator or someone in their presence and at their direction destroys the will.
Additionally, those above parties – in destroying the will – do so in order to revoke the will.

Lack of testamentary capacity

Effectively, this means the will was created and/or amended when the testator was not of sound mind or mental capacity. The issue often arises in cases where Alzheimer’s Disease becomes a factor for the testator. Such a will could be subject to unintended influence.

Above all, it’s critical that you have the evidence to prove a lack of testamentary capacity.

If you seek legal advice to challenge a will, contact The Inheritance Experts today.

More about Will disputes

We offer a wealth of insights here on this blog regarding will disputes and inheritance challenges.

*Additionally, the will must be both signed and witnessed by those parties.

A family dispute over wills exacerbates what’s already a difficult period of time for any family. Throw the struggle amongst siblings and extended family members over the legitimacy of a legal document aside. Above all, there’s the added pressure of the loss of a valued loved one.

In time, you’ve got a recipe for family business disaster. Just tack on a few ingredients:

First off: money.
Then add on real estate.
Not to mention the additional non-family parties involved in probate.
Some sibling disputes always give the recipe a bit of zest.
Finally, the intricacies of a blended family (where applicable).

So there are some questions you’ll undoubtedly have about the process of disputing a will. The one we aim to answer below is “What language are these lawyers speaking?”

Family Dispute Over Will Terminology Guidance

In this piece, our goal is to lay out the key players and common vocabulary involved in a will dispute. The Inheritance Experts know the subject inside and out. So treat this post as an A-to-Z guide of definitions for the personnel and terms involved in any probate.

PERSONNEL

Administrator / Estate executors

These are different, but they have relatively similar roles at the end of the day.

If no will exists or the will does not name an executor, an administrator will be appointed.

If a will does exist and such a person is appointed to administer the will’s intentions, that person is an estate executor(s). By designation, this person or these people are declared in the will by the deceased as the party best equipped to carry out the wishes of the deceased person.

An estate executor presents the will for probate to a judge. By law, funds and assets are frozen from disbursement amongst beneficiaries until a probate judge approves it.

Beneficiaries

This is the common area where sibling rivalry comes into play. In general, a beneficiary is any party or person in the will who becomes a recipient of assets or monies within the estate plan.

Please note that this can include matters of sentimental (as opposed to monetary) value. For instance, assets such as a pet, figurine, rose bush or toy can fall into the designation of sentimental value.

As you can imagine, some beneficiaries aren’t going to be satisfied.

Discretionary beneficiaries

These are individuals or entities that a grantor names in a trust, life insurance policy, or retirement plan. What makes them different from regular beneficiaries is that they have no legal proprietary interest.

Estate Planning Attorney or Personal Representative

This is a specialist solicitor whose expertise lies in advising clients in planning their estate. As a result, these lawyers know the laws and intricacies surrounding the creation of a will.

Guardian

A guardian is a person who can look after the interests of a child in estate matters. In Scotland, the age constituting the need for a guardian is 16; elsewhere in the UK, children are under 18 years old.

Trustee

If a certain beneficiary is unable to hold property yet, a trustee will do it for them until they are permitted. Furthermore, the trustee is responsible for administering the trust assets.

With a family dispute over wills, things can get contentious. So it helps to know the terminology and principles involved.

PROCEDURAL TERMS

In the process of handling the family dispute over wills, there’s certain common vocabulary you’ll need to be aware of.

Assets

Assets, in short, consist of property owned by the person who died. These include a house, household goods, savings or investments.

Bequest & Chargeable Gift

A bequest covers gifts disseminated in the will.

Chargeable gifts are similar but are so valuable as to require payment of an inheritance tax.

Codicil

This is a document that has the power to amend (but to be clear, does not necessarily replace) a will. Because a codicil has the power to adversely affect a will, a re-write tends to be the more common course of action.

Grant of Probate

A grant of probate is an official legal document from the Court confirming that the will’s executor has the authority to act. In turn, this document validates a will and makes the distribution of the assets possible.

In Scotland, this document is a Confirmation of the Estate.

Inheritance tax

This is the tax monies payable when an estate exceeds the current inheritance threshold. As of 2020, this amount includes estates at or above £325,000.

Intestate

In short, an estate becomes intestate when the person dies and they don’t subsequently leave a legally valid will.

Legacy

A legacy applies to a specific gift or cash item left in a will (the rose bushes, for instance). Any property, however, cannot be a legacy gift.

A gift of money is a Pecuniary legacy.
When the legacy is a specific gift or object, it’s a Specific legacy.

Residue

This is a term that addresses the remaining balance of the estate after all payments have been made. In essence, these payments include funeral expenses, debts, legacies and any other taxes.

The party who is receiving the residue balance is a Residuary beneficiary.

About the Inheritance Experts and a Family Dispute Over Will

This post is part of our ongoing series covering issues about contesting a will and securing your inheritance. Our goal is to keep you informed on the latest issues and risks involved with disputing wills and probates.

Inheritance Act Claims: Who Can Make Them?