Private Client

In an article of 28 April 2013, the Daily Mail continues its campaign against the perceived inefficiencies and failings of the Court of Protection.  Simon Hardy discusses this article and helps demystify the Court of Protection. 

Claims under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 (“the Act”) are on the rise. According to a Law Commission Report presented to parliament last year, it was estimated that in the past three years more than 1000 claims under the Act have been formally commenced in court. At Kingsley Napley, we have noticed a particular increase claims under the Act by spouses and cohabitees, especially where one or more the parties have been married previously and/or they have children from an earlier relationship.

In 2013, the courts have held in two different cases (both involving warring siblings contesting a deceased parent’s estate where one sibling had been cut out of the deceased parent’s last will) that there was insufficient evidence to declare a Will invalid on the ground that the testator lacked ‘testamentary capacity’. However, in both cases, the disputed Wills were declared invalid on the ground of ‘want of knowledge and approval’. 

The Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 (“the Act”) provides that adult children are entitled to apply for reasonable provision from the estate of a deceased parent.  We have observed a steady increase in claims from children, often in strained family situations involving step- parents.