Can You Make a Claim if You Have Been Left Out of a Will?
If you thought that you should be entitled to inherit from someone’s estate who you were close to, but you are not named in their Will and they have recently died leaving you out, or perhaps worse, having recently changed their Will, cutting you out this can be financially very challenging for you, if you were relying on receiving some inheritance.
A disappointed beneficiary could make a claim under the Inheritance (provision for family and dependent) Act 1975 in this situation. These claims are not available to everyone, and specific criteria must be met. For the Act to apply the deceased must have been domiciled in England and Wales at the time of death and a claim must be brought by a disappointed beneficiary within 6 months from the date of the Grant of Probate or Letter of Administration, depending on whether the deceased died intestate or testate.
There are additional factors which the Court will want you to evidence. For instance, if you are a spouse the Courts may consider additional provisions than if you were living as husband and wife but unmarried.
It is therefore important that should you feel there is no reasonable financial provision for you following someone’s death that you seek legal advice to see whether a claim under this Act would be available for you to bring.
If you do not meet the criteria and do not have sufficient evidence, then it is possible your claim could fall at the first stage.
In contrast, a disappointed beneficiary may be making a claim against an estate which you are a named beneficiary for. It is important you are aware of your position and how this may affect the administration of the estate.
Each situation is different and proper, clear legal advice will help you understand your position. Our contested wills and probate services can provide further guidance and support where disputes arise.
At Kenning Law, we offer a FREE discovery call which means you can find out if we can help, without costing you anything. We can then talk you through the next steps.
