Do I have a right to inherit from my parents? Solicitor Jack Dray looks at claims made by children under the Inheritance Act.
To answer this frequently asked question bluntly, the answer is, yes, children (adults as well as minors) are entitled to make an inheritance claim against their parent’s estate. Under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act, a child is one of the categories of people who are able to make a claim against the estate of someone who has died.
The most commonly asked follow-up question is, ‘How much is my inheritance claim worth?’
Before we look at how much an inheritance claim may be worth, we must briefly consider the law that governs disposal of an estate in England & Wales. Our law is based upon the concept of ‘testamentary freedom’, meaning that we are all free to decide how to distribute and dispose of our assets when we die. So, children do not have an automatic right to be included in their parent’s Will and therefore have no automatic right to receive an inheritance. However, if a parent fails to make provision for their child in a Will, then the Inheritance Act can be relied upon to ensure that they are treated fairly.
So, how much is an inheritance claim worth?
Under the Inheritance Act, claims are made for ‘maintenance’. As a result each claim will be dependent on the claimant’s individual financial position, with each claim being valued differently. It is important to note that ‘maintenance’ does not mean that a claimant will be awarded everything they want, as awards are limited to what the courts determine to be ‘reasonable financial provision’. The famous legal case of Illot v The Blue Cross and Others illustrates this perfectly, as the daughter in that case was awarded just £50,000 from her mother’s £486,000 estate.
When the courts decide what a claimant should be awarded, they will look at the following criteria:
- The financial needs and resources of the claimant;
- The financial needs and resources of any other claimants;
- The financial needs and resources of any beneficiaries of the estate;
- The size and nature of the estate;
- Any disabilities (both physical and psychological) of any applicant or beneficiary; and
- The conduct of the parties.
All Inheritance Act claims therefore need to be assessed on a case-by-case basis according to these principles.
It should be noted that an ‘estranged’ child is entitled to bring a claim under the Inheritance Act, and the claimant in the case of Illot had been estranged from her late mother for 26 years.
To find out more about the question, ‘Do I have a right to inherit from my parents?’ and the kind of financial provision you can expect to receive, contact our specialist inheritance team for a free consultation. We can often deal with Inheritance Act claims on a No Win, No Fee basis and can look at funding as part of our free case assessment.