Inheritance Act Claims: Who Can Make a Claim?

What Is an Inheritance Act Claim?

An Inheritance Act claim is a formal court application under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 (the “Act”), seeking reasonable financial provision from a deceased person’s estate.

The Act gives the courts in England and Wales the power to vary the distribution of a deceased person’s estate. Claims can be brought where a Will or the intestacy rules fail to make reasonable financial provision for certain categories of people.

An Inheritance Act claim allows eligible individuals to seek financial provision from an estate where they believe the Will or intestacy rules have failed to provide adequately for them. The claim must be based on the statutory criteria, rather than simply on the grounds that the distribution of the estate is unfair.

The Act generally applies where the deceased was domiciled in England and Wales at the date of death.

Who Is Eligible to Claim?

Eligible applicants are limited to the following categories:

Current spouse or civil partner: Someone who was married to or in a civil partnership with the deceased at the date of death.
Former spouse or civil partner: Someone who was formerly married to or in a civil partnership with the deceased, provided they have not remarried or entered into a subsequent civil partnership and have not lost their right to claim through a relevant court order.
Cohabiting partner: Someone who lived in the same household as the deceased for the whole of the two-year period immediately before the death, as if they were married to or in a civil partnership with the deceased.
Children: This includes biological children, adopted children and adult children.
Persons treated as a child of the family: Someone whom the deceased treated as a child of the family in relation to a marriage or civil partnership, or otherwise. This may include stepchildren.
Financial dependants: Someone who was being maintained, wholly or partly, by the deceased immediately before their death. The court will consider whether the deceased was making a substantial contribution towards that person’s reasonable needs, reflecting an assumption of responsibility for their maintenance.

The Two Standards of Financial Provision

The court applies two different standards when determining what constitutes reasonable financial provision, depending on the relationship between the applicant and the deceased.

Spouses and civil partners

The court considers what financial provision it would be reasonable for a husband, wife or civil partner to receive in all the circumstances, whether or not that provision is required for their maintenance. This involves considering what the applicant might reasonably have received had the marriage or civil partnership ended in divorce or dissolution rather than death.

All other eligible applicants

For all other eligible applicants, financial provision is limited to what it would be reasonable for them to receive for their maintenance. The court considers the applicant’s reasonable maintenance needs in the context of their circumstances. An award is not intended simply to provide an inheritance or an unrestricted capital windfall.

Adult Child Claims and the Maintenance Standard

Claims brought by adult children are assessed under the maintenance standard. The court determines what constitutes reasonable financial provision for their maintenance, taking into account the circumstances of the case.

Key legal considerations include:

No automatic entitlement: Unlike spouses and civil partners, adult children do not have an automatic right to inherit from a parent. The court considers their financial needs alongside the other statutory factors when deciding whether reasonable financial provision has been made.
Defining maintenance: Maintenance is not limited to basic subsistence. Depending on the circumstances, it may include provision for housing, living expenses and other reasonable needs. The court assesses what is appropriate in the individual case.
The question of a moral claim: A moral claim is not a strict statutory requirement. However, the nature of the relationship between the deceased and the adult child, including any obligations or responsibilities, may influence the court’s decision.
Estrangement: A long period of estrangement may affect the outcome of a claim. However, the court will consider the reasons for the estrangement alongside the applicant’s financial circumstances and the other relevant factors.

Statutory Guidelines

Under the Act, the court must consider a range of statutory factors when deciding whether reasonable financial provision has been made and, if not, what order to make.

These factors include:

The financial needs and resources that the applicant has or is likely to have in the foreseeable future.
The financial needs and resources of any other applicant.
The financial needs and resources of any beneficiary of the estate.
Any obligations and responsibilities the deceased had towards any applicant or beneficiary.
The size and nature of the net estate.
Any physical or mental disability of any applicant or beneficiary.
Any other matter, including the conduct of the applicant or any other person, that the court considers relevant.

Key Time Limits

Limitation period: Claims must generally be brought within six months of the date on which the grant of probate or letters of administration is first issued. Applications made after this time limit has expired require the court’s permission to proceed. Permission is not automatic, and the court will consider the circumstances of the case.

Types of orders available: If a claim succeeds, the court has a wide discretion to order financial provision from the estate. Depending on the circumstances, this may include lump-sum payments, payments by instalments, transfers of property or the establishment of a trust granting a right to occupy or benefit from property for a specified period or for life.

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