Everyone has heard of the perils of inheritance and probate disputes. A disgruntled family member, perhaps someone you have not had any contact with for several years, makes a claim against your estate following your death and effectively takes money from those whom you wanted to benefit.
Following recent case law it is now even more important that a person making their will sets their reasons out very clearly for either omitting someone from their will or distributing their estate unequally between their children. In Ilott v Mitson, an only child who had been out of contact with the parent for 26 years, successfully made a claim on the parent’s death for one third of the value of the estate despite the deceased’s decision to leave it entirely to charity.
The most straightforward way to protect your estate from these types of claims is to make a will with a qualified solicitor who will not only listen to your plans for the distribution of your estate, but will walk you through the obligations you have to others, taking into account the type and value of your assets. This will include any business assets; perhaps you want to leave your business to one child over and above your other children; perhaps you would prefer the income generated from your business to be divided equally between all of your children without having a damaging impact on that business.
Depending on your circumstances there are several options available when considering whether or not to omit someone from your will. This could include a carefully considered statement in the will itself making it clear to all who read it as to the reasons why you made that decision. Or you could leave a small gift to the person you wish to exclude, calculated by the potential value of their claim on your estate, if you want to dissuade them from making a claim on your will.
Finally it is also possible to put a clause in your will stating that if a beneficiary receives a gift under your will and makes a claim against your estate for additional funds, they will be forced to forfeit their original gift.
Jennifer is a solicitor in our wills probate & trusts department. She has experience of wills and estate planning, probate and the administration of estates, trusts and issues concerning mental capacity. She also handles a range of Court of Protection matters including lasting powers of attorney, the registration of enduring powers of attorney and deputyship applications.
What can be said about 2020? Terms such as pandemic, lockdown, social distancing and furlough became commonplace. We’ve all had to drastically change the way we live and work this…
Changes to the Wills Act are set to allow video witnessing of wills in some circumstances. But while bringing the law up-to-date with today’s lifestyle is no bad thing, hastily-made…
If you own property in the UK but do not live in the UK, you should make sure that you comply with non-resident capital gains tax (NRCGT) rules, including the…
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL cookies.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through our website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorised as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyse and understand how you use our website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies but it may affect your browsing experience on our website. You can find our cookie policy here.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for our website to function and enable core functionality such as security and accessibility. These cookies do not store any personal information. You can block these cookies by changing your browser settings, but this may affect how the website functions.
We use performance cookies such as Google Analytics to help us count the number of visitors and to see how visitors move around our website when they are using it. This helps us to improve the way our website works, for example, by ensuring that users are finding what they are looking for easily. The cookies collect information in a way that does not directly identify anyone. For more information on how these cookies work, please see our cookie policy.