Disputes over inheritance between children and a second spouse

Inheritance disputes can arise in a variety of familial situations and circumstances, one of those circumstances often being a dispute between the children of a person who has died (the testator) and their step-parent.  

It is common in these circumstances that the children of the testator may not agree with a Will executed by their parent or be unhappy with their entitlement under the Rules of Intestacy. There are also circumstances where the testator does not realise that a marriage will revoke their previous will, and so a testator dies in the belief that their Will is still in place.

As such, many children end up in a situation where they need to dispute their parent’s Will or their entitlement to their parent’s estate under either the Will or the Rules of Intestacy due to their step-parent inheriting, which they believe they are entitled to.

Challenging a Will

Children often find themselves in a situation where they believe that, for one reason or another, their parent’s Will is invalid.

If there is clearly a mistake made in a Will, for example the Will accidentally excludes a child and this was not the intention of the parent, children will often apply for a rectification of the Will.

Children of a testator may also challenge a Will if they believe that the Will is invalid, or that that Will is not reflective of their parent’s wishes. A Will can be challenged on various grounds, however commonly this is done in cases where the children believe:

1. The will isn’t validly executed under section 9 of the Wills Act 1837;
2. The testator lacked the testamentary capacity to execute a Will;
3. The testator lacked knowledge or approval of the Will;
4. The testator was unduly influenced into executing the Will;
5. There was “fraudulent calumny” i.e. the testator was told lies or misrepresentations about a potential beneficiary; or
6. The Will itself is fraudulent.

It is often the case, where a step-parent receives a significant amount under a Will or a child receives less than expected, that a child may believe that their parent did not intend this or may have lacked the capacity to execute their Will properly, or perhaps that the step-parent somehow influenced the execution of the Will. The step-parent, in this case, may then have to defend any claim that is put forward by the children.  

Claims under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975

If there is no Will executed by the testator, under the Rules of Intestacy, the testator’s spouse, i.e. the step-parent, would receive £322,000 of the estate. Alternatively, if the estate is under this value, this would mean that the step-parent would receive everything. Then if the estate has a value higher than £322,000, the step-parent would then also receive 50% of any remainder in the estate, with the other half being split between any of the testator’s children. It is easy to see why a child of a testator may make a claim on an estate in this instance, especially where they are aware that this was not the intention of their parent.

Even if there is a Will, children may also believe that they have not been adequately provided for under it.

These situations often result in claims being made by the children under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975. A child of someone who has died is an eligible claimant under this Act, and may put forward a claim for “reasonable financial provision” from the estate. However, it must be noted that the needs of the other beneficiaries of the estate, i.e. the step-parent, are taken into account in these claims, meaning they are often defended.

Proprietary estoppel

Another challenge often faced by a step-parent is a claim for proprietary estoppel. In the context of a step-parent, this kind of claim would be made where a child states that they were promised something by their parent in their lifetime, and that they relied upon this promise to their detriment. If, for example, the entire estate then passes to their step-parent because of the marriage or under the Rules of Intestacy, a child therefore may have this claim in equity and it would be for the step-parent to defend.

In summary, there are many difficult circumstances that may arise between step-children and step-parents after a parent dies. These situations, amongst others, stress the importance of proper estate planning within someone’s lifetime, in order to avoid these kinds of disputes.