Inheritance from DF that isn't on birth certificate

[whateveryouwanttocallme]

I'm posting for a very close friend of mine on here as she just asked me this over text and we've tried to find answers online but can't find a solid answer anywhere! She found out through another friend that her ex who is the DF of their daughter(now 15yo) passed away a few days ago. They were never in a relationship, it was a fling/friends with benefits and she ended up getting pregnant and found out after they broke it off. He knew, paid child maintenance and did a DNA test to confirm paternity but wasn't involved and therefore never knew or met the daughter. He's not listed on the birth certificate. He then got married and had 2 more children with his wife. She's wondering if her daughter would get some of his inheritance?

Ive no idea about legal details, but very unsure why people are urging sympathy for the greiving widow.

This bloke has a purely financial relationship with his own child, and assuming his wife knew she fully supported that level of "parenting".

You reap what you sow.

If your friend is after his house and cars, where are the bereaved family supposed to live? I understand that your friend will now be worried about missing out on three more years of child maintenance, but she needs to find out about the will/seek legal advice before approaching the family who may not even know about your friend's daughter.

I've just found a lawyer's site.

www.stephens-scown.co.uk/disputes-with-individuals/inheritance-and-trust-disputes/who-inherits-when-there-is-no-will/

It looks like illegitimate children can inherit and or challenge a will even if the father isn't named on the birth certificate. They need to prove parentage but the DNA tests should do that.

solicitors.lawsociety.org.uk/

Children have no absolute right to inherit in England. Of course a will can be contested. If they decide to pursue this I'd say it needs to be done through a solicitor. You can't just ring up the grieving widow and say hey where's my share.

Your friend won’t be getting any of his house. It’ll be owned as joint tenants so his wife will get it. Plus any joint bank accounts. Plus £270k on top of that, if he even has that much left once the house is taken out of the equation.

Some of the advice on here is incorrect.

If there is a will the estate will be distributed accordingly. If it leaves anything specifically to his daughter she will inherit. If he leaves anything to be divided between his children one third of that will go to his daughter.

If there is no will it is likely that his wife will inherit everything. His daughter will only inherit if his estate is worth more than £270k. If it is she will be entitled to the same share as his other children (one sixth of any amount over £270k).

The previous poster is wrong to assert the house will definitely be owned as joint tenants. It may not be. If it is the house will not form part of his estate, nor will any joint bank accounts. However, if the house is owned as tenants in common 50% of it will go into the estate.

Sorry - pressed post too soon.

If there is no provision for his daughter she may be able to make a claim under the Inheritance Act.

Why would your friend do this? A family have lost their father/husband, presumably, tragically young. The last thing anybody needs in that situation is a former squeeze being greedy. And it is greed. Maintenance is paid from income, no income, no maintenance. She needs to suck that up and leave them alone.
If it then turns out there is some provision made she can accept it with a clean conscience knowing she hasn't put pressure on the bereaved.

Chances are unless he was exceptionally wealthy there won’t be any money to come her way unless he’s specifically left her anything in his will. The wife will get all the house and the next 270k of assets.

And it is greed. Maintenance is paid from income, no income, no maintenance

Better get the law changed then. And remember, this is about the daughter, not the OP's friend.

The Inheritance Act allows the daughter to apply for reasonable provision for her maintenance. She isn't entitled to a regular income from her father's estate but she may be entitled to an appropriate capital sum to provide for her maintenance.

If the OP's friend takes steps to ensure her daughter is reasonably provided for from her father's estate that is not being greedy. That is looking after her daughter's interests.

she may be entitled to an appropriate capital sum
From her father’s estate. Which is unlikely to include the house or any joint bank accounts or personal possessions, or any money from life insurance or pensions, or cars if they were bought on finance. Once those items are ruled out his estate may very well be £0. OP’s friend needs to get a solicitor to investigate.

The wife will get all the house

Just to repeat, that depends on how the house was owned. If they were joint tenants she will get all of the house. If they were tenants in common half of the house will go into his estate. It is by no means certain that they were joint tenants.

and the next 270k of assets

That assumes there is no will. Even then, if the OP's friend lodges an Inheritance Act claim on behalf of her daughter, she may be awarded something even if it leaves the deceased's wife with less than £270k.

Ive no idea about legal details, but very unsure why people are urging sympathy for the greiving widow.

Maybe because the fact that her husband had a child before she met him doesn’t change the fact that she has lost the man and partner she loved and her children have lost their father.

I think your friend and daughter need to think long and hard about their motivations.

Why would your friend do this? A family have lost their father/husband, presumably, tragically young. The last thing anybody needs in that situation is a former squeeze being greedy. And it is greed. Maintenance is paid from income, no income, no maintenance. She needs to suck that up and leave them alone.
I don’t think it’s greedy to think about providing for your child, who has had maintenance payments till now. Every decent parent who has the option has insurance or other plans for exactly this, it’s perfectly reasonable to hope his estate provides something for his child. There are of course right and wrong ways to go about this with the grieving widow.

prh47bridge
Glad to read your posts correcting misinformation!

You are legally required to provide for dependent children in your will. As the daughter is 15 and in full time education she will count as dependent. And given that the deceased was paying maintenance this will be straightforward to establish. It will all take a long time, and there might not be much money at the end of it, but the entitlement is clear.

First part of estate left to wife including family home and the rest divided among the children. Most married couples have each other on life insurance policy if so it would go directly to her and not form part of his estate.

I don't think it's unreasonable to want to receive her share as it were. She's already been short changed a father it's all very well being principled but that wont support the daughter through university etc.

The daughter and the father never met, or had any relationship you say. Then they expect inheritance, 1st class CFs

Life insurance payouts are not a part of the estate and will go to named beneficiaries.

The house depends on the ownership. If he owned it in a joint tenancy with his wife his interest ceased to exist and it does not form a part of the estate. If they owned it as tenants in common/he owned the whole thing then his share goes to his estate.

Re cars again of depends on who the owner is (they may be under his wife’s name, they might be leased etc).

If there is a will then the estate will be divided up according to what the will says. Your friends daughter may be able to challenge the will but it’s not straightforward and she’s going to struggle unless she’s been left out altogether or there is some other reason to challenge. If there isn’t a will then the rules of intestacy apply (wife gets first £270k plus half of the remainder. The other half of the remainder is split between children).

I thought that child maintenance had to be paid out before anything was divided up?

It maybe that he has specified her either in a will or life assurance policy. But let the dust settle. Friend of ours took out a specific life assurance policy to ensure that children from his first marriage were taken care of should he die ( he jointly owned house with his second wife). So it is possible.

For example, if my hypothetical deceased husband received twice or more of his salary as a death benefit, I would give 3x yearly maintenance to his child with another woman. There would still be plenty over for me and mine and that would be the very least I'd expect to do.