Inheritance Act claims

While there are many ways a person can look to challenge the inheritance they may be due to receive, claims under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 have increased in recent years. We can help you.

While the reason for more Inheritance Act claims is not known for sure, changes to the traditional family structure and an increase in wealth are believed to be part of the cause.

What is the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975?

The Inheritance Act can help you by allowing you to claim for a further financial provision if you have not been appropriately provided for under a will or estate.

Claims under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 are financial maintenance claims where a party seeks to obtain assets from an estate to support and/or improve their income and, in certain circumstances, improve their own standard of living.

You may want to make a claim for financial provision if:

• You have been left out of the will
• You have not been left as much as you need
• There is no valid will (intestacy)

Who can make a claim under the Inheritance Act 1975?

You may have a legal claim on an estate if you are in need or were financially dependent on the deceased, and you are:

• a spouse or civil partner
• a former spouse or civil partner
• a cohabitee
• a child
• a person treated as a child
• anyone financially maintained by a person who has died

A spouse or civil partner can make a claim regardless of whether they require maintenance or not.

How long do you have to bring a claim for financial provision?

It is important to seek legal advice as soon as possible if you want to bring a claim. This is due to a time limit of six months for an Inheritance Act claim after the grant of probate is obtained.

Where possible, it is always best to try to resolve matters amongst yourselves by way of mediation instead of going to Court. This will help keep both emotional and financial cost to a minimum.

How we can help you

Our solicitors offer expert legal advice on bringing and defending Inheritance Act claims. We can:

• Help you establish whether you are able to pursue a claim
• Help you establish whether you or someone else has been adequately provided for by an estate
• Help you bring a claim under the 1975 Act against an estate
• Apply to the Court to obtain an Order on your behalf
• Make arrangements to attend a mediation with you
• Help you defend an Inheritance Act claim, whether you are an executor, personal representative or beneficiarys

Our experience

• Settled a claim by a child excluded from their parents’ estate on behalf of the beneficiaries of the estate
• Settled a claim on behalf of a widow and her minor children in an estate (worth in excess of £1,000,000)
• Advised a wife on a claim against her deceased husband’s multi-million pound estate
• Settled a claim on behalf of a child against their mother’s estate
• Advised and settled claims on behalf of beneficiaries facing claims against the estate by their siblings
• Advised and acted on behalf of a parent whose child died intestate
• Advised and acted on behalf of numerous executors caught up in Inheritance claims