Unequal inheritance – what can adult children do?

Often adult children may feel disappointed or frustrated with the inheritance received from their parents, this feeling will only be exacerbated if their siblings/half-siblings receive a greater amount. It is not uncommon for parents to leave more to certain children than others, sometimes the reasons will be clear, other times less so – either way the losers of an unequal inheritance situation are likely to feel that they should be entitled to at least the same as the others. This blog will look at the options an adult child has when faced with an unequal inheritance situation which they believe is unfair.

Challenge the Will

The adult child could choose to challenge the deceased parent’s Will. For this to be effective the adult child must have benefitted under a previous Will (or if no previous Will, under the Rules of Intestacy) and have grounds to challenge the Will. A Will can be challenged on any one/multiple of the following grounds:

– The correct formalities were not followed when creating the Will (for example the Will was not witnessed correctly).

– The deceased did not have the required testamentary capacity.

– They also did not properly understand and approve the contents of the Will.

– The Will was created under the undue influence of another/was subject to fraudulent calumny which meant the Will did not reflect their true intentions.

– The Will was created by forgery or fraud.

In some circumstances it will appear that there are grounds for the adult child to challenge the Will, take the below scenario for example:

In 2012, Sarah made a Will to split her estate equally between her three children (James, Frank and Susan).

Sarah was diagnosed with dementia in 2014 and had physical and mental health issues following this. In 2016, Sarah made a homemade Will which left one eighth of the estate to both Frank and Susan and left the remainder of the estate to James. Despite being closer with James, Susan did still get on with Frank and Susan and had always assured them they would inherit equally.

When Sarah died in 2019, James showed Susan and Frank the Will. They were very surprised and believe that their mum lacked capacity to execute a Will in 2016 or that James may have influenced her in some way.

Susan and Frank brought a challenge against the Will on the grounds of lack of testamentary capacity and undue influence.

Challenging the Will is an option for an adult child that is unhappy with their inheritance but it may not always be possible due to a lack of standing or a lack of grounds. If you believe you may have a claim, please contact us at [details] and we will provide you with more information.

Make a 1975 Act Claim

Another option for the adult child is to make a claim for reasonable financial provision under the 1975 (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act (“The 1975 Act”).

Under the 1975 Act any child of the deceased/anyone who was treated by the deceased as a child can bring a claim for greater financial provision where they do not feel they have been reasonably provided for by the Will or under the Rules of Intestacy.

There are a number of different factors that will contribute to what is deemed reasonable provision but generally an adult child must prove some form of financial need and/or dependency. Consider the below scenario:

Sarah died leaving a Will dated 25 January 2022, which left the majority of her estate to her son Frank, with her stepson James receiving only £5,000. James believes this may be because they fell out in 2021, however they did make up again a few months before Sarah’s death.

James has a disability which means he is unable to work full-time and has real difficulty surviving on his current income. During her lifetime, Sarah used to provide James with roughly £400 a month to support with his finances. Frank, on the other hand, works full-time and is secure financially.

James made a claim under the 1975 Act that the 2022 Will did not provide him with reasonable financial provision.

All cases are different, and a 1975 Act claim is often dependent on a number of factors. If you believe you may have a claim, please contact us at [details] and we will provide you with more information.

Conclusion

When an adult child is at the wrong end of an unequal inheritance it can be very difficult to accept. Fortunately, there are options to assist them in making claims for more provision. We have set out above two of the most common options an adult child may seek, but there are also further options that may be available depending on the facts of any individual case. If you believe you may have a claim, please contact us at [details] and we will provide you with more information.