Claims of inheritance

[ples1809]

My dad married a thailand national in thailand but she did not apply successfully for a visa to live here in the uk with my dad. They have been marrried approx 4 years. My dad has made a will and has not included his wife in it. They have never lived together but he has visited his wife twice a year in Thailand. They are not divorced but he has decided that he will not be travelling to Thailand to see her again.Does she have rights to any of his estate when he dies ?

I agree he needs to tell the solicitor to receive accurate advice.

So much nonsense has been masquerading as "advice" on this thread. Just a tip folks. If you don't know what the law is, don't pretend that you do.

As his spouse she would have the right to bring a claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependents) Act, as Megatherium says. There is no such thing as a "one-third" rule. Completely made up, that one.

The court may well order she receives something out of the estate. The only way to dispense with her right to make a claim is to divorce her now and get a clean break order within the divorce, to include claims on death.

Not a lawyer, but I agree with Collaborate that your father should get a divorce to ensure you don't have a mess to sort out after he's passed.

Might be worth checking out the actual marriage if it was done in Thailand - we attended a 'wedding' in Thailand (had a minister not monk) and the British groom was quite clear that it had no standing in Britain and that they would need to have a civil ceremony in the UK to have it recognised by British law. Apparently it was symbolic rather than legal

Your marriage or civil partnership should be recognised in the UK if you follow the correct process according to local law - you won’t need to register it in the UK. Current government advice.

Some rather dodgy "advice" on this thread! (except collaborate)

I think from memory it's recognised in the UK if it would be recognised by the civil authorities in the country where the ceremony took place.

Yes that's what foreign office advice seems to say. which must be right - the government presumably wouldn't want the admin of every couple who married properly overseas but domiciled here to have to reregister the marriage here. The issue I guess is if it the marriage isn't legal in the other jurisdiction ie Jagger and Jerry hall in Bali.

Even if the marriage isn't valid, if she had reason to think it was she can still claim on the back of a nullity petition.