Personal Injury
Pearson Legal
Full Credential Description
Right to Occupy in a Will In this case our client was the second wife of the Deceased, after his first wife died several years earlier. Our client and the Deceased each had children prior to entering into the marriage but did not have any children together. Shortly after the marriage, the Deceased prepared a Will which in the main benefitted his children and provided our client with a Right to Occupy the marital home (which was in his sole name).
The Will, which was prepared shortly after marriage, was 11 years old at the time of the Deceased’s death. Our client and the Deceased enjoyed a happy relationship for 15 years of which they were married for 11 years. Claims under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 Our client brought a claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 (‘the Act’) as the Will did not provide reasonable financial provision for her.
Whilst the Will provided her with the Right to Occupy her marital home, that ‘Right’ came with specific strict conditions which caused our client concern. Our client was naturally unsettled by the lack of security the ‘Right to Occupy’ and its strict conditions provided her, given the Executors and Beneficiaries under the Will were the Deceased’s children in which there was now a lack of trust. Spousal claim for reasonable financial provision Our client pursued a claim under Section 1 (1) (a) of the Act as a spouse of the Deceased.
Our client’s claim was for reasonable financial provision from the estate. Since her husband’s death our client had been struggling financially, the household had gone from two incomes to one and her husband, who had been a generous and traditional man had dealt with most of their marital expenditure. Our client sought provision for her reasonable maintenance together with the added security of her living arrangements.
The matter was settled out of Court and through without prejudice negotiations. We were pleased to reach a settlement that provided our client with a lump sum for her maintenance, a life interest in the property, and a contribution towards her legal costs.
Explaining the unusualness of the case and commenting on the successful outcome, Contentious Probate paralegal, Jade Wood, said: “It is not often that you come across claims in which a spouse from a happy marriage does not get reasonable financial provision from their spouse’s estate.