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His Honour Michael Cook |
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Inheritance claims
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The Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975, together with the Civil Partnership Act 2004, permits certain categories of people to apply for financial provision from the estate of someone who died domiciled in England or Wales on the grounds that the deceased person has failed to make reasonable financial provision for them.
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The categories are:
- The widow, widower or surviving civil partner
- A former wife or husband who has not remarried or former civil partner
- Any person who during the whole of the two years preceding the death had lived as husband or wife with the deceased if the death was on or after 1 January 1996
- A child, including an adult
- Any person whom the deceased treated as a child of the family
- Any person who immediately before the death was being maintained, wholly or in part, by the deceased
An application may not be made after six months have expired since the grant of probate or letters of administration were taken out without the permission of the court
We advise great caution before embarking on Inheritance Act proceedings which can be protracted and expensive – Charles Dickens’ Bleak House is a famous example of legal costs exhausting an estate – but in many cases the parties may be willing to enter into a deed of family arrangement rather than incur the disproportionate legal costs of litigation.
Contact the team on 0800 043 053 8 or 01202 551 991
e-mail an enquiry
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