Inheritance Claims

The financial pressures of life today often means that the expectation of a legacy on the death of a loved one is relied upon by many. What happens when that expectation comes to nothing or is far less than hoped for? In some instances the disappointed parties can look to take action when the effect of the deceased’s Will is not as expected.

A number of cases have been reported in the media lately where family members have been left disappointed upon the distribution of a family member’s estate and have taken legal action to address the injustice they feel.

A recent case reported in the media (Sears, 2019) involved the estate of Dr Jean Weddell who died in 2013 at the age of 84. At the time of her death, Dr Weddell had been living on the Isle of Wight with her civil partner, Wendy Cook. The dispute involved Dr Weddell’s son, Christopher Gosden, a Professor in European Archaeology at Oxford University. Professor Gosden had been given up for adoption by his mother shortly after his birth but after reconnecting in 1987 Dr Weddell had promised to leave her London home to him upon her death.

The dispute arose from the fact that Professor Gosden had been expecting to receive the house or equivalent when his mother died. Dr Weddell had however sold her house in 2010 to relocate to the Isle of Wight to move in with Ms Cook and, it seems from the facts that, the majority of the sale proceeds of £710,000 had been gifted to Ms Cook during Dr Weddell’s lifetime leaving only £5,000 in her estate.

Professor Gosden did not claim against the estate but instead claimed against the solicitors who had set up a Trust in 2003 for Dr Weddell. He claimed that the intention of the Trust was to enable the house or proceeds from its sale to be passed to him and his family in such a way so as to reduce the inheritance tax liability on Dr Weddell’s death.

He argued that the Trust had been incorrectly drawn up as it had allowed his mother to sell the house and do as she pleased with the sale proceeds, i.e. give them away when it’s purpose should have been to protect the sale proceeds for him and his family.

The claim was unsuccessful as the High Court held that whilst more could have been done to protect his rights as a trustee and beneficiary Dr Weddell had the mental capacity to choose what to do with her house and the proceeds of sale at the time it was sold. Professor Gosden did not know of the sale until some years after the event but the Judge said that it was Dr Weddell’s choice to sell her house that had caused the Professor’s loss and not the conduct of the Solicitors.

Individuals who find themselves disinherited, or as in the case of Professor Gosden, receiving less than expected from an estate have several options available. Depending upon the circumstances of the case it might be possible to:-

1. Challenge the validity of the Will, for example if there is any question as to the testator’s mental capacity, or if there is any suggestion of undue influence;
2. Bring a claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 claiming they are entitled to reasonable financial provision from the deceased’s estate; or
3. Rely on the principle of ‘proprietary estoppel’, i.e. that they relied upon promises made to them by the deceased during their lifetime and accordingly acted to their detriment.
4. Individuals should however be aware that challenging a Will or bringing an inheritance claim against an estate is not a straight forward matter and expert advice should always be sought. If you have any concerns about avoiding a claim against your own estate or you consider that you have been unfairly treated in a Will then please contact our team on 01482 324591 to discuss your options.

References

Sears, N 2019, ‘Son loses £1m fight for his mother’s home…’, Mail Online, 26 October, accessed 14 November 2019, <https://www.dailymail.co.uk>