Claims by Family Members
Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975
What if you believe the deceased should have made provision for you but didn’t?
Where a person dies domiciled in England and Wales an application can be made to the court by certain people for an order that provision be made for them from the estate of the deceased. The basis for such an application is that the deceased’s did not make reasonable financial provision for them
Who can apply?
The people eligible to apply are:
- The wife or husband of the deceased
- The former wife or former husband of the deceased who has not remarried
- A person who (not being a legally married wife or husband), for the whole of two years ending with the deceased’s death, has been living in the same household as the deceased as the husband or wife of the deceased; Often known as a common law wife or husband
- A child of the deceased
- Any person (not being a natural child of the deceased) who, in the case of any marriage to which the deceased was at any time a party, was treated by the deceased as a child of the family in relation to that marriage; or
- Any other person (not being a person included above) who immediately before the death of the deceased was being maintained either wholly or partly by the deceased.
What can be applied for?
In the case of an application by the wife or husband of the deceased, reasonable financial provision means such financial provision as it would be reasonable in all the circumstances of the case for a husband or wife to receive, whether or not that provision is required for his or her maintenance. In the case of any other applicant, including a cohabitee who is entitled to apply for financial provision, reasonable financial provision means such financial provision as it would be reasonable in all the circumstances of the case for the applicant to receive for his or her maintenance
What is the time limit for application?
An application under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 Section 1 must be made within six months of the grant of probate or letters of administration
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