Inheritance Act Claims

Surviving spouses and civil partners can claim. Former spouses who haven’t remarried can claim. Cohabitants who lived with the deceased for at least two years immediately before death can claim. All children including adult children, minor children, stepchildren, and children treated as children of the deceased can claim. Anyone maintained wholly or partly by the deceased immediately before death can also claim. Maintenance means making a substantial contribution beyond normal family exchanges. Each category has different entitlements, with spouses, civil partners and some former spouses/civil partners potentially entitled to a higher standard of provision than others who may only claim maintenance.

For surviving spouses and civil partners, reasonable financial provision means what’s reasonable in all circumstances whether or not it is required for maintenance. This is a higher standard than other claimants, potentially including capital provision for housing and investments (like pensions).

For everyone else, reasonable financial provision is limited to what’s reasonably required for their maintenance. Maintenance does not mean enabling claimants to live luxuriously, nor does it envisage that they should live miserably in subnormal conditions, i.e. poverty.

Courts consider financial resources, the needs of claimants and beneficiaries, obligations the deceased had towards claimants, estate size and nature (what it consists of), the interested parties’ physical or mental disabilities (if any), plus any other relevant matters to a particular case. For spouses and civil partners, courts can consider what they would have received upon divorce as a cross-check.

Courts look at a claimants’ age, length of marriage or relationship, contributions to family welfare, and conduct. The courts also consider other beneficiaries, their needs also matter. Courts balance competing claims and available estate funds. Each case depends on its specific circumstances.

Claims must be filed within six months of the grant of probate or letters of administration. This deadline is strict. You can apply for permission to bring claims outside this period, but courts are reluctant to grant permission except in exceptional circumstances.

If you’re considering a claim, seek advice immediately after the deceased has passed away, especially if probate has been granted. Investigating claims and negotiating takes time. If the six-month period expires, your claim may be barred regardless of merit. Executors should delay estate distribution for at least six months after probate to avoid liability and take advice before distributing if a dispute has not been settled at the sixth month mark.

Yes, adult children can claim but they tend to face higher hurdles than minor children who usually have greater needs. Adult children must show they have maintenance needs, not just that they believe they should be entitled to more inheritance. Being an adult, able bodied child who is self-supporting makes claims very hard, but it doesn’t prevent them entirely.

Adult children with disabilities, health issues that prevent them from working, or financial difficulties may have stronger claims. Adult children who cared for deceased parents or for whom parents promised to make provision also have claims. Courts don’t reward good children and punish bad ones, since they focus on financial needs in terms of maintenance.

Cohabitants who lived with the deceased for at least two years immediately before death can claim maintenance provision. The two-year period must be relatively continuous and occur in the period leading up to death. Courts consider the length and commitment of a relationship, a cohabitant’s contribution, age, and whether they have children together. Cohabitant claims compete with spousal claims if the deceased was married to someone else when they died, but living with a new partner.