AIBU to ask if I could contest my mother’s will?

[impossibletocontest]

Is it always impossible to contest a will in England.
I’ve been told I will not be inheriting and that my brother will be the sole beneficiary. He has a good very well paid job as does his wife, own their own home and are comfortable. Dm has a large estate so he will inherit a large amount.

I live in HA accommodation, with one child (disabled and SEN) plus I have a physical disability which is progressive and I can only work PT so reliant on UC top ups and will probably end up totally reliant when health deteriorates further.

I know England is difficult with this issue is there any chance a court would look at the situation and see that it’s fair to award me something?

ive been told that I won’t even be able to get a caveat before probate as they won’t tell me immediately on the death of dm so the assets will already have been given ? They are very low contact with me so I think they’ll absolutely do this. Is there anything now I can do or do I have to just accept that I will always struggle and my brother gets everything. As a child I was my DM carer as she had alcohol and MH issues so I feel really really used and cast aside.
She is 84 now and in poor health and the only contact I get is her telling me how I won’t get anything from her .

OP is dependent on benefits now and likely to become more dependent on benefits in future. That on its own may give her a valid claim. If her situation is linked to her mother's treatment of her, that strengthens her claim.

Stepping slightly out of lawyer mode, one of the toughest things I find about this sort of work is that often you can tell that what a client really wants isn't to win the case, it is to get some kind of moral or emotional resolution. Losing the case can therefore be absolutely catastrophic emotionally and winning can often not really give the client what they really wanted

Sometimes I think we should have therapists on staff!

OP sorry for what you went through when you were a child. That wasn’t right. She’s still abusing you now by contacting you just to goad. Not sure why you entertain it? Just go fully NC if she’s cut you out. If she has a personality disorder then another way to look at it is you’ve had 20 years of freedom and little contact. You’ve also protected your child from having a toxic person in their life. Unfortunately we don’t get compensated by those who treat us horrendously. It would be morally right as you say but sadly not legal. In Scotland you can’t cut children out in terms of moveable estate and shares. I’d draw a line, never contact DB or DM again and then at least the power they have over you is gone. Money isn’t the only way to have a great life. Sometimes it’s learning to accept your hand and having joy in the little things, inner contentment so work on the adage that even when you can’t change your situation, you can always change your attitude towards it.

Op has MS and also a disabled child

From what OP has said, picture the scenario.

OP was her mothers skivvy from age 6-18, also helping raise a brother 4 years younger than herself.
At 18 OP escapes to Uni leaving the 14yr old brother to take over the caring role.
They're both used to OP doing it all.

Upon OP’s departure, mother has a MH crisis and is hospitalised for treatment, so what happened to the 14 yo bro in the interim?

He’s very likely resentful and carrying scars aswell.
At 14 he would then be left caring for a vulnerable parent so he’ll hate that OP left/ escaped.

They've had time to embed their resentment and feed off each other.
So sorry for your plight OP.

Scotland is the U.K., and the OP says it’s England.

Sorry for doubting her. Of course I can say I’d like to hear the mother’s take on it.. I’m sure most people on here would too. That doesn’t mean I expect to. If I hadn’t spoken to my mother in twenty years whatever the reason, it wouldn’t occur to me that she’d leave me money.

Excuse me? How rude are you?

This isn't about empathy. The OP asked if there were any grounds to contest the will. I answered the question.

If the OP had spent the last 20 years caring for their sick mother and the brother walked in and got her to change the will at the last minute then that would be grounds to change the will. But that isn't the case.

If she doesn't want to talk to you and you're essentially estranged then that will strengthen the case for the fact you were excluded. It seems desperately unfair but for all you know there won't even be much money left?

The only way to try and improve things would be to work on your relationship with her while she's still alive.

Are you claiming PIP for your illness and the equivalent for your child? Those aren't means tested so if you ever did inherit anything major you could still receive that.

sorry but not grounds for contesting a will.

Yes, you answered the question but your answer was wrong. A child being in serious financial difficulty has grounds to make an Inheritance Act claim.

It clearly is grounds for a claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependents) Act.

Yes, my mistakes.

So very sorry for OP here. While the money would make a difference, it’s clear she had a traumatic childhood which nobody has recognised.
She was punished for going to Uni and then having a disabled child.
The mother here is more than an alcoholic, too. She sounds like she has BPD.
I have no legal advice but if OP was my friend I would say…
Cut them all out of your life now. Being told ‘you are getting nothing’ it is a tool of control. Locking horns with the brother who isn’t helpful is just miserable.
OP here will never be thanked for her care nor treated kindly by these people.
It is not resentment but it is unfair that a woman who has created misery her whole life is wealthy because of others. It just rankle.

Oh yeah sorry, I missed that. So yes, it’s definitely worth taking legal advice on this as I think she does have a potential claim under the 1975 act.

this is different from contesting the will.

Experienced lawyers on here are giving good advice which is different to yours.

Don’t give advice when you have no idea.

Just reposting as I’m worried @impossibletocontest will miss this, or has withdrawn from the thread before seeing the professional advice provided.

not in England and not if the OP had not previouly been supported by her mother after childhood.

Yes, in England. Try reading the case of Illott v Blue Cross. Here the adult child was estranged from her mother for many years.

Under what grounds?

They're over 18 so cannot claim a financial dependency. (A child under 18 can contest a will)

They have been estranged for 20 years and had no financial dependency on the mum for at least 20 years so legally there is no grounds to contest here either.

If the mum had been regularly sending money and the death would mean financial hardship then that would be grounds to contest.

So I am curious under which grounds the OP has to contest, and as you clearly know and have legal knowledge then do share as thats what this forum is for...

Both Howe vs Howe and Ilott vs The Blue Cross and Others are relevant.

Mrs Ilott's mother left her estate to various charities. She had been estranged from Mrs Ilott for over 25 years. She left a letter setting out her reasons for excluding her daughter and instructing her executors to fight any attempt by Mrs Ilott to make a claim against her estate. Mrs Ilott's claim went all the way to the Supreme Court. The courts awarded her £50,000, a little over 10% of her mother's estate, due to her difficult financial circumstances, with around 80% of the household income coming from benefits and with little opportunity for her and her husband to improve their situation.

Ms Howe was disinherited by her father, who described her as "lazy" and a "druggy". He left his entire estate to his mother, sister and nephews. The court accepted that Ms Howe's ongoing health issues and inability to work were due to her father's behaviour during her upbringing and awarded her £125,000 to be held in a discretionary trust for her benefit, representing a little under 10% of her father's estate.

Whilst this case isn’t relevant. The after story might be

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-york-north-yorkshire-12161833?app-referrer=deep-link RSPCA vs gill

as someone who is low contact with her family, I wish you well op. I understand the further kick this would be.

In general, an adult child who is not dependent on their parent cannot make a successful Inheritance Act claim against their parent's estate. However, the courts have held that, where the child is in difficult financial circumstances and is dependent on benefits, they do have an Inheritance Act claim even though they were not dependent on the deceased parent, especially if the parent's behaviour is a factor in their current situation. See the two cases I describe in my last post.