Illegitimate adult child claim on inheritance

[RelativePitch]

My dad had an affair in his first marriage about 60 years ago. A child was born and the mother was paid off by my grandfather (around £250k in today's money). My father had nothing to do with this child and never met him.
My father died last year with a will whereby everything goes to my mother, but his properties go into trust for his 5 children.
My mother's solicitor rang to say that an anonymous woman rang up to say that she was going to make a claim on the estate on behalf of her son. No detail other than that. The Solicitor wouldn't commit to how worried we should be.
I understand that minors should be able to claim against an estate, but a 60 year old man?
Of course it could be another child we don't know about, but as my dad had a vasectomy in 1984, the youngest a child could be is 40.
My dad makes Boris Johnson look like the paragon of virtue!
How worried should we be?

@geebray well apparently my half brother from the first marriage has a document referencing the amount. And it is consistent with what my dad's first cousin has said. But without going back into 60+ years of banking, I don't know.

OK, there is some documentation. This inconvenient girl was managed out.

Who knows how she was affected. What the birth was like. Whether she had PTSD. Whether your half-brother is disabled, or neuro diverse, or even knows much about his own heritage.

Theres a tone on here which is quite unpleasant to the OP

Its not for anyone else to dictate or police how she might refer to this man. She might feel and refer to him as a half brother, or hse might feel and refer to him as her father's child. Neither are right and wrong and it isnt for others to question that

Exactly!

All very grubby

What a shame they didn't reach out to us beforehand. I understand they may have been shut down by my dad, but they could have tried with the siblings and we could have paved a way.

But when were you told, OP? About your other half-brother?

I have not read the whole thread. However, to answer the question in the OP, I understand the will names the children who are to be beneficiaries. That being so, the only way this person can make a claim is to use the Inheritance Act and argue that they are entitled to reasonable financial provision. Unless he is in serious financial difficulties, a claim is unlikely to succeed.

@Geebray I only ever heard rumours. It is only today that something concrete landed ie the solicitor ringing and on the back of that I managed to get a first name out of my dad's 80 plus year old cousin. And it's only through my whole brother that I have found out that my half brother had this document. A few people have been sitting on this information for a very long time.

How does he prove it if he has no dna test? As long as none of your siblings or yourself do not know give their dna there is no proof.

Goodness. A real family secret. Well supposedly the poor young girl's name is on the document?

And of course she has contacted the solicitors.

@coldcallerbaiter we can be court ordered to submit DNA.

A DNA test can determine probability of people being siblings. The siblings can do it.

He got the equivalent of £250K when he was a baby. Isn't that his fair share?

No, he didn't get anything. His mother got some money to raise her child with.

You think that an unmarried 16 year old mother in the 1960s didn't need that money to help in bringing him up?!

It's not "his fair share" by any means, its maintenance to the mother to help bring him up in a time when there was no/minimal welfare state to help her.

His sixteen year old mother.

Not to mention the shame attached in those days.

My personal view is that this instance of the young pregnant mother from 60 years ago is a red herring.

From the sound of your father’s behaviour over the years, I suspect there is a much younger half-sibling involved. This would explain why the claim is being made by the mother. If the writing of the will pre-predates the birth of this child, there may well be grounds to contest the will even with your mother’s current right to inherit everything. A child still in full-time education could be seen as a dependent, particularly if your father was ‘secretly’ paying some form of maintenance.

Keep an open mind until your solicitor comes back with more information.

It wasn't £250k. It was the equivalent of £250k today

What’s the approx inheritance amount? And it’s 5 if you siblings in the Will?

@SomethingUniqueThisTime he had a vasectomy in 1984. The youngest this child can be is 40. Unless his vasectomy self-reversed which can happen!

Phew that’s a relief!

I now wonder whether the child from 60years ago or potential later ones have some form of disability which could explain the mother trying to make a claim. It does seem very odd.

Do you mean contacted you rather than going through a solicitor, or do you mean they should have contacted you years ago? The now adult child may have only relatively recently found out. Surely this would have been seen as very shameful for the poor girl at the time, and something she and her family would have hidden from everyone, including the child? A lot tends to come out of the woodwork when people are either dying or have died.

I would do this as well.

@coldcallerbaiter as it stands the properties are worth £1.4 million. But can't be sold until my mum passes away. So after inheritance tax and a 5 way split...about £200k, but hoping my mum lives forever!!!

Why not do an Ancestry DNA test as possible siblings?