Hayley Bundey, one of our team of specialist inheritance dispute solicitors, has won another stepchild inheritance claim.
Her client had been made a promise by their biological parent and step-parent that they would receive an equal share of their joint estates, along with their stepsiblings. However, neither parent put those wishes into Wills. As a consequence when the step-parent (who survived the biological parent) passed away, the client did not receive anything.
Claims were made against parent’s estates under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975, with the stepparent claim being in the alternative to a proprietary estoppel claim for the equal share promised.
The stepchild inheritance claim was settled out of court at mediation. It was a rare example of a mediation where the opponent appeared to recognise the moral aspect of the claim being made, and settlement was reached for a substantial six-figure sum, even after payment of legal costs was factored in.
The client was delighted with the outcome, and felt that justice had been achieved — with the settlement being a “life-changing” sum to enable them to move on from the stress and grief of the whole unfortunate dispute.
Hayley acted on a No Win, No Fee basis which meant that the client did not have any worries about funding legal fees.
This excellent result shows the importance of clients using specialist inheritance dispute solicitors who are experienced in building a successful case, and have the expertise to maximise the size of the award.
We are proud of our track record of success in recovering awards for stepchildren and you can read HERE an article summarising the inheritance rights of stepchildren.
If you would like further guidance on making a stepchild inheritance claim then contact our free legal helpline for a consultation on how our team can help you.