A landmark Court of Appeal decision has implications if you are looking to make a Will – or make a claim if you’ve been left out of one.
You might have thought that anyone is entitled to leave their assets to whoever they wish when they die by making a Will. But are they?
A ruling by the Court of Appeal looks to have called this fundamental principle into question. The long-running case saw the court decree that Heather Ilott, whose mother had explicitly ruled her out of her Will and instead left her £486,000 estate to three charities, was in fact entitled to a third of it – some £164,000.
Mrs Ilott was an only child but had become estranged from her mother when she married her childhood sweetheart. Largely dependent on benefits, she did not consider that she had been properly provided for in her mother’s Will when she died in 2004 and so began the process of contesting it.
This ruling is a warning shot for anyone planning to exclude their children, spouse or dependants from their Will. That’s because certain individuals can make a claim for “reasonable financial provision” regardless of whether there is a Will or not. In this case, even though Mrs Ilott’s mother had left two side letters along with her Will stating why she didn’t want her daughter to receive anything, the court has ultimately decided that the daughter had not been reasonably provided for.
There has been a steady increase over the last 20-30 years of courts allowing claims by adult children, even those working and earning an income, to meet their maintenance needs.
So what does this case mean for the future?
For claimants:
- If a Will has failed to provide for you, you could have grounds for making a claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 for reasonable financial provision
- But you must be quick: there is a time limit for making claims of six months from the date of the grant of probate
If you are making a Will:
- You need to explain your decisions as clearly and fully as possible
- If you are gifting your estate to charities, it’s highly advisable to say why that is and explain any connections or dealings you’ve had with them during your lifetime
Whether you want to make a claim against an estate or whether you are looking to draw up a Will, the importance of sound professional advice is clear.