Our client’s husband of 40 years sadly died soon after being diagnosed with a terminal condition. Before his death, he had made a will for the benefit of his wife and adult children, with an additional monetary gift for his adult son from another relationship. Our client faced a claim from her husband’s son (the claimant) for a bigger share of the estate under the 1975 Act. The claimant alleged that he required extra provision for accommodation and university fees, as he was studying to become a doctor. Most of the estate’s value was in the family home and our client faced having to sell her home if the claimant’s claim was successful.
At a mediation we negotiated a settlement in the form of a modest payment to the claimant, to be spread over several years, and at a small fraction of the sum he originally claimed. This allowed our client to stay in the family home and receive the majority of the estate, as her husband had intended.