Wills & Trusts Law Reports | Autumn 2021 #184Elizabeth Thomas (Elizabeth) passed away in 2018, leaving a will dated 30 September 2004. She was survived by her three sons, David, Owen and Gareth, and her 13 grandchildren.
Her will included, among others the following terms:
‘If my husband has [predeceased me]… I leave my property to be divided amongst my sons and their heirs. At present, these are as follows:… Sons — Owen, Gareth and David; their children are Owen/Fay; Gareth/Gwennan and Samuel and Raphael; David/Ellen Christie Thomas and Jens Rhys Thomas… ’
‘The proceeds fro...
Wills & Trusts Law Reports | Summer 2021 #183The claimants, being the children of the deceased, brought a claim for provision under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975. The deceased, their father, had been diagnosed with an incurable lung disease in 2004. The claimants’ parents had divorced in 2012. Their mother remarried shortly thereafter and relocated with the claimants to Scotland. The father had maintained weekly telephone contact with the claimants for a short period, but had paid no maintenance or child support, with the mother and her new husband paying for the claimants’ priv...
Wills & Trusts Law Reports | Summer 2021 #183The claimant was the 50-year-old widow of the deceased. She brought a claim for reasonable financial provision to be made for her from the estate of her late husband, Ian Wooldridge.
The first, second and third defendants were the executors of the estate and adopted a neutral stance. The fourth defendant was the deceased’s 28-year-old son from a previous marriage, and the fifth defendant was the deceased’s 12-year-old son.
There was some dispute over the value of the estate and the claimant’s entitlement under the deceased’s homemade last will, but a...
Wills & Trusts Law Reports | Summer 2021 #183The claimant was the 50-year-old widow of the deceased. She brought a claim for reasonable financial provision to be made for her from the estate of her late husband, Ian Wooldridge.
The first, second and third defendants were the executors of the estate and adopted a neutral stance. The fourth and fifth defendants opposed the claim.
The claim was dismissed, and the costs of the claim fell to be determined.
The claimant accepted that she had to pay the costs of the first, second and third defendants assessed on the indemnity basis. She also accepted that she had to p...
Recent claims from adults under the 1975 Act abound. Laura Abbott differentiates the winners from the losers While the claimant in this case was the deceased’s granddaughter, and so claiming under s1(1)(e) as a person maintained as opposed to a child under s1(1)(c), the judge’s approach to the case and rationale mirrors that in recent …
Continue reading "The 1975 Act: Establishing genuine financial need"
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Wills & Trusts Law Reports | Spring 2021 #182A was survived by C, his sister; H, with whom he had had a relationship; E and F, who were the daughters of A and H; B, with whom A had also had a relationship; and G, the son of A and B. C was one of the executors of A’s will. Each of A and C owned 50% of the shares in X Ltd (the company) and on A’s death C remained a director and was in control of the company. During A’s lifetime, a property (Property 1) was acquired in his name and remained so at his death.
There were three claims following A’s death: (1) H claimed to be the beneficial owner of Property 1 (the property claim); ...
Wills & Trusts Law Reports | Spring 2021 #182The claimant was the widow of the deceased whom she married on 19 April 2005. It was for both of them a second marriage and each had their own children. By his will dated 12 December 2017 the deceased made a specific gift to the claimant of his half-share in the matrimonial home, which was subject to a mortgage. He appointed his children as executors and the net value of the estate was stated to be not less than £4,088,336. The claimant applied for an interim provision order pursuant to s5 of the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975. She sought int...
Wills & Trusts Law Reports | Spring 2021 #182A claim was made under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 (1975 Act) by the mothers of the deceased’s children. The deceased had owned 50% of a private company. That shareholding was valued for probate at £5m. The executors of the deceased’s estate were his sister, who owned the other 50% of the shares and was a director of the company, and a solicitor from the firm which had drafted the deceased’s will, and who was also a director of the private company. The claim under the 1975 Act was upheld against the estate (reported as B v...
Wills & Trusts Law Reports | Summer 2020 #179A widow brought a claim for reasonable financial provision to be made for her from her late husband’s estate. The claim was brought 25 years and nine months after the six-month time limit mandated by s4 of the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975.
At first instance Chief Master Marsh, exercising the broad discretion afforded by s4 of the 1975 Act, gave permission for the claim to be brought, notwithstanding the extremely long time since the six-month period had expired: see Bhusate v Patel.
The facts of the...
Wills & Trusts Law Reports | Autumn 2019 #176The appellant appealed from an order of Mostyn J by which he refused her permission pursuant to s4 of the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 (the 1975 Act) to bring an application out of time for reasonable financial provision out of the estate of her late husband (the deceased), who had died in 2016 leaving an estate of £29m. By his will the deceased left all his business assets qualifying for 100% business property relief on a discretionary trust (the business property trust) for a class of beneficiaries (the discretionary beneficiarie...
