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?

A lot may depend on how the house was owned - joint tenants or tenants in common.

They might not even own the house.

@prh47bridge yes, she could potentially claim under the inheritance act. But the op has already stated that her friend is unwilling to contest the will. In which case her daughter will only get something of named or if any inheritance is left to ‘children’ in general

Hypothetically, say the DD was named in the will not to receive anything.

Could this then be contested?

Pension is a good call. DD’s friend got a couple of hundred pounds a month until she finished uni, from her mother’s pension after her death in service.

@finished31 yes it could be as she was a dependent

But the op has already stated that her friend is unwilling to contest the will

If the OP's friend is unwilling to bring a case you are correct that her daughter will only get something if she is specifically named or if the father has left an inheritance to his children without specifying who they are.

Hypothetically, say the DD was named in the will not to receive anything. Could this then be contested?

Yes. A few years the courts dealt with a case where a woman had been estranged from her daughter for 26 years. The woman left specific instructions in her will that her daughter was not to inherit anything. She also left a letter for her executors telling them to fight any claim from her daughter. The daughter made a claim under the Inheritance Act and was awarded just over 10% of her mother's estate.

For all those saying this sounds “cold” we are talking about a man who has a 15 year old daughter he never bothered to meet
How do you know it wasn't the daughter's mother that didn't want him to be involved?

Just wanted to say on this thread that even if they house was held as joint tenants and there is nothing else the child can still bring a claim under the Inheritance Act. The Act allows the court to undo the joint tenancy and treat the estate as if there had been a tenancy in common.

I totally disagree with people saying this is "cold". This man has a daughter he had a purely financial relationship with. That's his poor doing. Now the poor girl doesn't even have that, and can never get to know her father.

Making sure she doesn't lose out on any inheritance is the least the remaining adults can do for her.

I totally disagree with people saying this is "cold". This man has a daughter he had a purely financial relationship with. That's his poor doing.

Exactly. It's HIS doing.

Now the poor girl doesn't even have that, and can never get to know her father.

And all of that became his wife's responsibility how?

@CeibaTree - you could not keep me away from my daughters for days never mind 15 years. Even if his daughters mother had refused he could have forced the issue. Stop making excuses for a deadbeat dad.

@curtainsforme - it’s not his wife’s fault he was a bad dad. But now his daughter may have a right to his estate which she may be administering. So she may need to assist

@CayrolBaaaskin

My post was re the emotional side of things - hence responding to the 'cold' comment, not the financial.

Your daughter has the same status as his other children as you have proof of paternity.

If something has been left in his will for her then she will be informed.

@curtainsforme - it’s still not cold tho. The daughter may be entitled to financial support and you can’t expect her to pussyfoot around because her dad has a new wife. It’s unfortunate but not her problem. She is 15 and a child

You don't know for sure if the wife even knows of the existence of the daughter. He may have kept it secret given that his only involvement was financial. Breaking that news and asking for an inheritance all in one go would be a lot.