Where there\u2019s a will there\u2019s a claim, as any witty probate solicitor will tell you. And, as inheritance legislation turns 50, it seems that it is not just a joke but a reality for a rising number of people. <\/p>\n
Claims brought in the High Court in London under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 have risen from eight in 2004 to 205 last year, according to figures published by the Royal Courts of Justice. <\/p>\n
In addition, in the last three months of 2024 the number of applications to block probate \u2014 the process of validating a will \u2014 hit a record high of 3,061 in a quarter, figures obtained by Taylor Rose Solicitors reveal.<\/p>\n
In total in 2024, the data \u2014 obtained under the Freedom of Information Act from the courts and tribunals service \u2014 showed there were 11,362 applications during the year, compared with 7,268 in 2019 and 6,358 in 2010, the earliest year for which the statistics are available.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, a survey of 2,000 adults for Level, a lender that provides finance for family law and probate disputes, found that 38 per cent said they would go to court to dispute a will if they thought their inheritance was unfair.<\/p>\n
The Inheritance Act allows certain relatives or dependants to make a claim against an estate of a deceased where they have not been given \u201creasonable financial provision\u201d in the will, or as a result of an intestacy. If eligible claimants \u2014 who may include a spouse, former spouse, children, civil partner, some cohabitants and other dependants \u2014 have been left out of a will, a judge can award them a share of the estate if they can show that they have been unfairly left without support.<\/p>\n
When the act was introduced, it marked a radical change by providing married women with a fairer share of their husband\u2019s estate than 1930s legislation had, giving them a proper share of all marital assets, rather than maintenance payments. The law also removed several restrictions that had barred unmarried daughters and sons over the age of 21 from making a claim for assets in their parents\u2019 estate. <\/p>\n
\u2022 Battle of wills as number of contested inheritances surges<\/a><\/p>\n The inheritance rules became \u201ca lot more equitable\u201d and had a huge practical impact on the living standards of surviving wives, who had previously ended up with less than if they had divorced their partners, says Stuart Downey, a partner at the law firm TWM. <\/p>\n When the act was implemented it was intended \u201cas a bit of a backstop to prevent obvious cases of injustice where a family member \u2014 or obvious dependant \u2014 had been excluded unfairly\u201d, explains Daniel Edwards, a partner at Browne Jacobson. He attributes the rise in claims made under the act \u2014 which he anticipates will continue \u2014 to a combination of an ageing population, more \u201cblended\u201d families and greater public awareness of individual rights.<\/p>\n Melinda Giles, the managing partner at Giles Wilson, suggests that the act is used in an entirely different way now than when it was introduced. \u201cNow we have blended families, we have grandchildren living rent-free with grandparents because they cannot afford to live anywhere else,\u201d Giles says, warning that \u201cproviding a roof over a head\u201d is seen by the courts as a dependency claim. <\/p>\n \u201cPeople are walking into those claims without any idea sometimes that a contentious probate is potentially the legacy that they will leave behind,\u201d she says. \u201cIf you are prepared to provide for someone financially during your lifetime, why would you not provide for them on your death?\u201d <\/p>\n