Wills & Trusts Law Reports | Spring 2022 #186The claimant, Mr Higgins, brought a claim for reasonable provision out of the estate of the deceased, under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 (the 1975 Act), in his capacity as a person who, although not a child of the deceased, was treated by the deceased as a child of the family, within the meaning of s1(1)(d) of the 1975 Act. Mr Higgins’ mother had married the deceased when he was aged nine, and he had continued to reside with the deceased after his mother and the deceased divorced, at which time the deceased had been gr...
Thomas Middlehurst discusses the impact of a Court of Appeal decision concerned with a vulnerable party and the definition of liabilities when considering debts and costs The situation where a person has disqualified themselves from participating in the hearing by their conduct is wholly different from the duty to ensure effective participation by litigants who …
Continue reading "Inheritance Act: Real world considerations"
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Sophia Rogers looks at a decision illuminating the position on the recovery of CFA success fees in Inheritance Act 1975 awards Unless a CFA-funded claimant can recover their success fee or a contribution thereto as part of their award, the success fee constitutes a debt which may undermine the purpose of their carefully tailored, needs-based …
Continue reading "Inheritance: What is financial need?"
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Laura Abbott describes a case for interim provision under the 1975 Act which has lessons for practitioners on costs Section 5 applications are not that commonly made. However, they may become more prevalent now given that interim payments on account of legal fees could avoid potential liability for uplift. Weisz v Weisz [2021], a claim …
Continue reading "The 1975 Act: An inelegant scrap"
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Laura Abbott reviews the latest developments in adult claims under the Inheritance Act, as well as the controversial issue of the success fee in such claims Re H attracted further attention because it addressed the issue of whether a success fee liability due under a conditional fee agreement could form part of an award. An …
Continue reading "Inheritance Act claims: Need, not comfort"
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Wills & Trusts Law Reports | Summer 2020 #179The claimant daughter brought a claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 for provision out of the estate of her late father. The sole beneficiary of his estate was his widow, who was in residential care with severe health concerns, but who had been debarred from defending the proceedings by reason of non-compliance with earlier court orders. The claimant had been estranged from her parents since 2010 and had a number of health difficulties which made her unable to work. She lived in rented accommodation with two children, whose father visited them daily ...
Amanda Noyce examines recent case law to determine whether success fees are recoverable in 1975 Act claims These cases are intrinsically extremely dangerous for lawyers to undertake, particularly since the decision in Ilott. Move over Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice; if there was ever a prize for the best opening line, HHJ Gosnell’s comments in …
Continue reading "Inheritance Act claims: The winner takes it all?"
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