Will - contested?

[IfYoureHappyAndYouKnowIt]

My father died recently at almost 90 having been married for around 15 years.

His will stated:

£20K to spouse

£2K each to grandchildren

remaining cash to children

house to be used by spouse for the remainder of her years - or alternatively proceeds to be used for a smaller property for his spouse - all proceeds ultimately to go to his children once his spouse has no further use for the house

On this basis the children could receive c. £100K each ultimately.

His spouse has become upset and said that she expects an additional £100,000 cash or she will contest the will. This is on the basis that she feels that she paid for quite a lot when they were together. She has been aware of the provisions within the will for some years.

Any ideas on what the likely outcome would be would be very welcome. To me it feels that this would be going against the wishes of my father and we're quite surprised that this has happened.

Thanks all

We're planning to make it clear that we can't accept the request for additional cash as this is not consistent with dad's wishes.

My dad's wife has already made it clear that she will not rest until she gets what she has requested and so we expect her to progress with proceedings in some shape or form and will then have to consider what to do.

In the meantime the executors are proceeding with probate.

We're assuming that if she proceeds she will issue a caveat. Does anyone know what this entails and what her/our options are regarding this?

Sorry about your loss .

The will sounds totally fair and your father is well within his rights to want his money to go to his kids and not hers.

I'm a family specialist rather than probate, but the process will be that she has to apply under the Inheritance (PFFAD) Act within 6 months of probate, otherwise she's out of time. A caveat is something different, and is used when there is a dispute about which is the valid will, or who should be the executor.

Thanks.....so a caveat wouild not apply then.

So if under PFFAD (googled it but can't find anything) is that a difficult thing for her to do do you know or can she stall the process pretty easily without having to do much?

Resolution was referring to the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependents) Act 1975. You can find it on www.statutelaw.gov.uk.

As Resolution says, she can't do anything until probate is granted. She will then have to issue a claim on the appropriate form with a detailed witness statement. She will probably need a solicitor for that.

If she dies whilst the case is in progress her claim dies with her. Given that she is 86 this may be relevant.

The court will look at what it was reasonable for her to expect, and will take into account what she would have got on divorce (although this will be just one of the factors considered), and the value of her other assets. Her age will be very relevant.

Thanks all - the advice has been really useful. I think we'll just sit tight now and see what happens, all of the probate stuff has been submitted by the family today.