Contentious Probate/Inheritance Claims/Disputes
Here at Hopkins we have specialist expertise in this comparatively little known but growing area of specialist services to be able to give practical and intelligible advice on any contentious/inheritance problem, whether you are an executor or personal representative of an estate or a disappointed beneficiary.
In England and Wales, a person making a Will is free to dispose of his/her property without restriction.
This may lead to disappointment for a person who is not named in the Will.
If the deceased did not make a Will at all, then someone close to the deceased and dependent on that person, but who is 'not family' may be left with financial problems and deprived of a home and income.
The system in England and Wales by the Inheritance (Provision for Family & Dependents) Act 1975 is to give the court a discretionary power to make an award to surviving spouse, or partner, or any other dependent, on the ground that the disposition of the deceased's estate (whether by will or intestacy) is not as to make reasonable financial provision for the applicant.
Spouses and former spouses of the deceased are, of course, eligible to make a claim, as are those who have lived with the deceased as a partner for at least 2 years immediately prior to death. Also as a result of recent cases, the law is now more helpful to those partners of single sex relationships.
Other potential applicants are those who were maintained by the deceased, which, again can include partners, ex-spouses and also children of the deceased.
Children of the deceased, in fact, fall into a category of their own eligible to make a claim, whethere they are illegitimate or of a past or current relationship.
Also those who are disabled or incapacitated in some way may be eligible to make a claim and in some cases may rany in priority or at least in equality with other claims on the estate.
Whether a person is successful in the claim will depend on your financial circumstances, both now and in the future and also the financial needs and resources of the beneficiaries named in the Will (or by intestacy) and any other competing claims upon estate.
|
