An Adult Child’s Claim (Father)

We acted for a client whose father died leaving a Will which cut her out of his estate. The Will left half his estate to his partner and the other half to a number of charities. Our client agreed that his partner should benefit from his estate but felt that leaving the other half of the estate to charities and not to her was upsetting and spiteful. She did not feel she had done anything to warrant or justify being cut out of her father’s Will.

Our client had suffered from ill health for most of her adult life and struggled to meet her own financial outgoings. Our client was living in poverty and finding it difficult to survive entirely on welfare benefits.

Jordans Solicitors expert inheritance claims solicitors issued a claim for our client against the estate under the Inheritance (Financial Provision for Family & Dependents) Act 1975 arguing the Will did not make reasonable financial provision for our client based upon her financial circumstances.

The case was settled before the financial hearing on terms which allowed the partner to retain her share of the estate with our client and the charities sharing the remainder. The terms and structure of the settlement meant that our client was able to ensure hers and her families’ home was secured with minimal impact upon her eligibility for welfare benefits. This was important because the settlement was not sufficient to maintain her lifestyle without ongoing assistance from the state.

This case highlighted that whilst the law allows a person to make a Will and leave their estate to whomever they wish, the law will intervene in circumstances where this leaves close family members in financial dire straits.