Contesting the will (Inheritance Act 1975)

[pennyfig]

Hi!
My mum sadly died last year. Her will was just a Word document stating everything go to my dad. Signed, but still.
This hurt a lot, but its clear to me that she would've expected our dad to make sure we were provided for.
Of course, that's not what happened (dad immediately got a new gf and bought a million pound house, stating 'its my money to do with what I want, she left you nothing.')
This was particularly heartbreaking, my mum loved us, and her grandchild - she would've wanted some of her estate to go to us. I have disabilities and a neurological disease which mean I struggle to work.
But because its not written down, my dad's burning through it all and not making any provision for us, and his new house is now partly owned by his new girlfriend and probably eventually then, her children.
I've read some stories about adult children contesting wills under the inheritance act. There was one in the news today.
Is this something anyone can advise about? Or am I wasting my time?

If the will was a basic word doc signed by her and not witnessed or anything then it isn't valid.

Have you searched online for another will? One that was officially done via a solicitor?

If yes to both and no other will is found then the estate should have been distributed according to interstate laws and most would have gone to your dad anyway (assuming they were married).

If one of my parents passed away, I would expect them to leave their estate to my remaining parent. I'm no expert whatsoever but as I understand, legally it's your dad's money to do as he pleases, and you would have no grounds to contest unless it was for reasonable provision, in which case you would have to prove that either your mum or your dad were supporting you with regular payments.

I'm very sorry for the loss of your mum.

Were your mum and dad married? If they were, I don't think it counts as his or her money, it's very normal for a surviving spouse to inherit all or most of whatever the deceased spouse left.

I'm assuming that your dad is also wealthy as he would not have been able to buy a million pound house with your mums money in the timescale you mentioned.

You can absolutely talk to your dad about his will (and if you're Scottish, he can't disinherit you entirely) but you have no case to challenge legally. Your mum assumed your dad would follow her wishes but she didn't make provision for this in her will.

And yes of course if the will isn't really a will in that it's not witnessed, it won't be valid anyway.

You say the will was signed. Was it witnessed by 2 witnesses and all signed in the presence of each other? If not it doesn’t meet the requirements for a valid will and so the intestacy rules apply. There could be other reasons why the will is invalid, but if this is not met it is clear cut.

were your parents married? Did your dad take out a grant (probate if a will, letters of administration if not).

If no valid will, under intestacy a spouse is entitled to the first £322k and half the rest. The other half to children. If not married no automatic entitlement to anything under intestacy but could potentially bring a claim.

if it was a valid will you can bring a claim but claims by adult children of independent means are tricky and it is common to leave all to spouse. seek legal advice from estate disputes specialist.

your mum could have left her estate to a life interest trust for her husband then after his death to you to avoid this.

if you bring a claim against your dad it could cause a breakdown of relationships and he may well disinherit you. Could you speak to him about what he intends to leave you? he could do a life interest to new girlfriend. He could also change this at any time.

Note once they have been living together 2 years she has a right to claim against his estate if there is inadequate provision for her on his death. If they are married, inheritance rights of spouse as above.

any claims need to be brought within 6 months of grant.

Also any assets held jointly (as joint tenants not tenants in common) pass outside of the will/ intestacy automatically by survivorship.

If it wasn't a valid will, witnessed etc then you would have needed to treat her as dying intestate. Doesn't sound like that happened. Who actually did the administration of the estate ie executors

As others have said, if the will was not properly witnessed or is invalid in some other way, your mother's estate should have been dealt with under the rules of intestacy. If she was married to your father, he would get the first £322,000 of her estate plus half the rest of the estate and all her personal possessions, with the remainder of her estate coming to and your siblings (if any). Any property that was owned as joint tenants would pass to him automatically, as would any joint bank accounts.

If they were not married, he would still get any property owned as joint tenants and any joint bank accounts, but her estate should have come to you and your siblings (if any) if the will was not valid.

Challenging a will under the Inheritance Act is difficult. In general, claims from adult children who were not dependent on the deceased at the time of death will only succeed if they are very poor. If it is now more than 6 months since your father got probate, you are out of time to make a claim.

If you want to pursue any of this, you need to see a solicitor who specialises in contentious probate.

"I've read some stories about adult children contesting wills under the inheritance act."

Just to add to the above, as everyone says, first find out if the will was valid.

If it was valid then I would suggest the way to go about this is to make a claim against your mum's estate under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependents) Act 1975.

However you must do this within 6 months of probate being granted. If you miss the deadline then the court may grant an extension but this is in no way certain.
.

"I have disabilities and a neurological disease which mean I struggle to work."

It is exactly in this sort of situation that claims have been successful.

For example, in the case of "H Deceased", his entire estate, worth £554k, was left to his spouse who was then in a care home. The son was the executor.
The 50 year old daughter had a complex psychiatric disorder, considerable financial problems and she lived in substandard rented accommodation with two young children. She was awarded £139k.

Re H (Deceased) [2020] EWHC 1134 (Fam)

In the case of Rochford v Rochford in the Peterborough County Court in 2021, the father had mostly disinherited his only daughter. Out of an estate worth £245k he only left £25k to his daughter and everything else to his sister (the daughter's aunt).

The daughter had a severe degenerative disease which prevented her from working. She was awarded a further £85k and also costs against her aunt. The costs are likely as much as the award that was made. These articles from the solicitors that represented the daughter:

https://todayswillsandprobate.co.uk/a-stark-warning-on-costs-in-contentious-probate-matters/

https://www.shoosmiths.com/insights/articles/the-adult-child-strikes-back-rochford-part-36-in-inheritance-act-claims

So

Were your parents married at the time of your mothers death?

I suggest that you need to go back to square 1 and check that the will is valid.

Was it witnessed?

If it ISNT valid then the Intestacy rules apply which may - or may not help you

As others have said, not enough info to say. The fact the will was a simple document doesn’t really matter, what matters is if the process was followed correctly- so if the will was witnessed etc. I’d assume that as this was a year ago this would already have been checked?

If the will is invalid, how worth a claim it is depends on the value of the estate and if your parents were married. If they were married and the estate was worth less than £322k it would all have gone to your dad anyway, so is still his. If the estate was worth more than £322k it may be worth a claim, but it depends how much over whether it would be worth the cost to you.

No. If she died without a will at all her spouse would inherit it all.

Not all of it, it depends on the value of the estate.

If you die married with no will and you have children then your spouse gets the first £322k, anything above that spouse gets half and kids get half. So if there was over £322k left then there could be a claim for OP but depending on how much the claim would be for would decide if it was worthwhile pursuing or not.

No he wouldn’t.

When applying for a grant of probate, you need to include a copy of the will. You can do a simple probate search online. If the will wasn’t legal, a grant would not have been issued.

With married couples, probate isn’t always required, it depends if assets were held jointly or separately.

I suggest that you need ideally a copy of the will which you can obtain here

https://www.gov.uk/search-will-probate

If you dont have one already

Then get some advice from a suitably qualified solicitor

If there isnt a will then the intestacy rules apply which are here

https://www.gov.uk/inherits-someone-dies-without-will

There may also be an issue about how your parents home was owned, was it as joint tenants in which case whoever else she owned it with would automatically get the whole thing on her death, if they were tenants in common then she could leave her interest in it to someone else