Can an adult child make a claim against their parent’s estate when they have not been named in the Will?
In short, the answer is yes – an adult child is eligible to bring a claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 if they have not received sufficient financial provision from their parent’s estate.
There is various case law in this area which provides guidance on whether reasonable financial provision has been made for an adult child.
One such case is Re Coventry in which it was established that adult children who are financially secure will struggle to succeed with a claim for reasonable financial provision. Furthermore, the judge in that case stated:
“There must … be established some sort of moral claim by the applicant to be maintained by the deceased or at the expense of his estate beyond the mere fact of a blood relationship, some reason why it can be said that, in the circumstances, it is unreasonable that no or no greater provision was in fact made”.
This case serves as a reminder that a claim by a financially independent adult child will likely fail without ‘something more’.
The court will take into account a number of factors when exercising its powers under the Inheritance Act. These include:
- The financial needs and resources of the applicant, now and in the future;
- The financial needs and resources which any other applicant or beneficiary has, now or in the future;
- Any obligations and responsibilities which the deceased had towards the applicant or any other beneficiary;
- The size and nature of the estate;
- Any disabilities of any applicant or beneficiary of the estate; and
- Any other matter ,including the conduct of the applicant or other relevant persons.
If a successful claim is brought under the Inheritance Act the court may make a number of awards, including a lump sum, periodic payments, a lifetime right to live in a property, or transferring a property outright.