The deceased, George, was the father of the three parties. He died leaving a will dated 26 March 2013. It made a gift of £10,000 to each of his three children, with the residue being left to his wife Lilly. In the event she predeceased him (as happened) it was left to his daughter Heather, the defendant, absolutely. It also appointed Heather as executrix. The estate was valued at approximately £480,000.
It was clear from the attendance notes surrounding the drawing up of the will that the deceased did not regard the claimants as having behaved well. Wayne had killed his niece’s pa...
The claimant was born on 2 January 2010. His mother did not look after him and social services arranged for him to be taken from hospital to the home of his father’s sister (the deceased) and grandmother, the second defendant, at 42 Chestnut Rise, Woolwich. The claimant’s father was unable to contribute much to his care as he was imprisoned soon after his birth and burdened by significant debt. Thus, it was the deceased who contributed most to the maintenance of the claimant, who continued to live with her there until she died on 11 February 2016. By her will, made a day before her death...
The claim concerned the estate of Hazel Valerie Fennessy who had died on 2 February 2020 at the age of 78. The claimant was the deceased’s son. The deceased’s other child, Heidi, predeceased her by approximately six weeks.
The deceased’s will dated 24 January 2012 left her entire estate to Heidi and appointed her as sole executrix. It provided that if Heidi predeceased then the whole estate was left to the defendant, June Turner, who was also appointed as sole executrix.
Probate was granted on 26 October 2020. The value of the estate was stated as £342,075 (gross) and £336,...
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Continue reading "Maintenance: The road to independence"
The 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...
The deceased left the entirety of his modest estate to the appellant, his wife of many years. At the time of the proceedings, the appellant was a frail woman in her 80s who was profoundly deaf and living in a care home. The respondent, the estranged adult daughter of the deceased, brought a claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975. The appellant originally failed to file an acknowledgment of service and evidence in accordance with CPR 8.4-8.6. She obtained relief from sanctions by consent but failed to meet the new deadline. No further ...
The 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...
M and S married in September 2000. They had met in 1987, purchased their first home together in 1988 and developed a business (WP Ltd) together. S had a child from a previous relationship, whom M had treated as his own daughter. M and S had a child (J) together in 1994; J suffered from hemiplegia, paralysis to one side of the body, and learning difficulties. In 2007, B started working with M and they started an affair. In 2010 M made his will, appointing S to be his executor and leaving his estate to her. At about the same time M and S bought another property, Poplar Court. In 2012 M and...
The applicant, Mr Warner, was the unmarried partner of the deceased. Before her death they had lived together for 19 years at a property in Tewkesbury. Mr Warner continued to live in this property after her death. Mrs Lewis, the daughter of the deceased, brought a claim in the County Court for possession of the property and for the return of certain items under the Torts (Interference with Goods) Act 1977. Mr Warner defended this claim, and made a separate application for relief under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 (‘the 1975 Act’). It was agreed by the pa...