The Inheritance (Provision for Family & Dependants) Act 1975 permits certain close relations and dependants of a deceased person to make a claim against the estate in circumstances where they have not been provided for. This is an important piece of legislation as it allows the courts to interfere with either the intestacy rules or the terms of a person’s will.
Spouses and civil partners, children (both adults and minors) cohabiting partners and dependants of a deceased person can all make a claim under this Act for maintenance from the estate even if they have been purposely cut out of that person’s will.
There is however a very short time limit for starting a claim at court of only 6 months from the date when either the Grant of Probate of the will has been issued or Letters of Administration of an intestate estate has been granted. The reason for the short time scale is so that executors and administrators can distribute the estate to the beneficiaries without the uncertainty or a later claim being made.
Whilst it is possible to apply to the court for permission to issue the claim outside this timescale, there is no certainty permission would be granted and you would need to have a very good reason why you did not make a claim within the time scale set out in the Act.
To ensure you do not miss this important time scale, there are a number of steps you can take:
1. Contact the Executor or Administrator if you know who that is and ask them for details of the estate, whether you are a beneficiary of the estate and if there is a will, ask for a copy of the will.
2. You can contact the Probate Registry to carry out a search to see if a Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration for the estate have already been issued. If they have not, you can submit a ‘standing search’ against the estate and the Probate Registry will contact you once either a Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration have been issued. They will also send you a copy of the will if there is one. Search probate records for documents and wills (England and Wales) – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
3. Take legal advice. It is important that you take legal advice urgently about your situation to see if you have grounds to make a claim and the timescales for doing so. It is also important to do this as early as possible so that we can try to settle the claim before the timescale for applying to the court has expired. Many of these cases are resolved by agreement without involving the court and time and expense can be saved if this process is started as soon as possible.