Are you the next in line to inherit?
Just about every day we receive an enquiry from at least one client wanting advice on wills and inheritance, including contesting a will after the death of a relative. Much of the time, they are disputing the will of a parent or sibling, but what if it concerns the death of someone a bit more distant, such as an Uncle, Grandparent or close Cousin?
We will always look to see whether there are good grounds for inheritance disputes. In general, a will is supposed to do what it ‘says on the tin’ and should stand unless there is a good reason otherwise. However, there are several situations where a will may be validly challenged:
- If the deceased had been unduly influenced by someone, the will may be set aside. If the deceased was vulnerable, emotionally or otherwise dependent on the beneficiary then this may indicate possible undue influence.
- Where the deceased may have lacked capacity at the time of signing the will and so the will is invalid and is set aside. Lack of capacity is essentially a medical question as to whether the person making the will was capable of understanding what they were doing when they made the will.
Another common will dispute is via the Inheritance Act, where a dependent has not been provided for in the will.
Inheritance Act cases
For Inheritance Act cases the court will have a general discretion to do what is fair and just and will carve up the estate as it sees fit.. However, for undue influence and lack of capacity cases, the court will simply declare the will invalid and set aside the will; It won’t actually decide who gets what and the result is as if the will had never been drafted. In that case, the outcome depends on whether there is an earlier will that can take effect or whether there is now an intestacy.
If the deceased had made a previous will, the older version remains in force (assuming it is valid!). Those beneficiaries and gifts referred to in the previous will remain valid, so if you were not a beneficiary in the earlier will you would not benefit from getting the latest will set aside. You would still stand to receive nothing, unless you could contest the earlier will too. This is difficult news to break but we believe that it is important for you to have a fair picture of likely outcomes from the outset.
What if there was no previous will drafted?
The estate would be divided in accordance with what are known as the “Intestacy Rules”. These Intestacy Rules set out the classes of people who inherit if there is no valid will. This is not a definitive guide (as there are some qualifications and conditions to each of these categories) but a quick summary of the pecking order:
a) The Spouse or Civil Partner will inherit everything, unless the deceased left certain relatives;
b) If there is no surviving Spouse or Civil Partner, monies are distributed to:
i. Children
ii. Parents
iii. Brothers and Sisters of whole blood
iv. Brothers and Sisters of half blood
v. Grandparents
vi. Uncles and Aunts of whole blood
vii. Uncles and Aunts of half blood
viii. The Crown.
Within section (b) assets are distributed in that precise order, going down the list from i) to viii). For example, it is only if there is no one within the i) category that you then look to those in category ii) and so on. Once you reach a category where there are identifiable individuals within it, the money is split between all of those individuals within that category. The law does not look to see whether there are also individuals within the subsequent category, so they miss out entirely if there’s someone above them in the pecking order.
This shows you that even if you feel entitled or morally obliged to contest a will, it is only worth your while financially, if an earlier valid takes effect which names you as beneficiary or you fall into the intestacy pecking order to be next in line for any monies. This makes it quite difficult for those close cousins, nephews or nieces or grandchildren out there, however deserving they may be!
However, regardless of this, we will always do our best for our clients and we will give you honest and straight forward advice. We’d rather let you know at the outset what options you have available to you. If you need will dispute solicitors, contact us for free initial advice on whether you have grounds to contest a will and whether you could stand to benefit financially from it.
