Landmark ruling may lead to more adults challenging parents’ wills
Adult children may challenge their parents’ wills if they believe they didn’t get what they were entitled to.
A landmark ruling may pave the way for adult children to challenge their parents’ will, even if they haven't been included at all.
Melita Jackson left her money to three animal charities, with none left to her estranged daughter. Heather Ilott left home at 17 to marry her boyfriend (now husband) against her mother’s wishes, causing an irreparable rift between the pair.
Mrs Jackson left her estate, worth almost £500,000, to the RSPC, RSPB and Blue Cross after she died in July 2004. She included a letter instructing her executors to defend any claim made by her daughter.
Ilott challenged the will under section 1 (c) of the 1975 Inheritance Act which entitles children to receive reasonable provision for ‘maintenance’, although what constitutes maintenance isn’t clearly defined.
The ruling
Appeal judges ruled that Mrs Ilott, who has five children, was not given reasonable provision from the estate to keep her family afloat in the future as she was on benefits and had no pension.
It was also highlighted that Mrs Jackson had “no connection” with the charities in question over her lifetime.
Judges said that Mrs Jackson had “acted in an unreasonable, capricious and harsh way towards her only child”.
As a result, Mrs Ilott was given £143,000 to buy the rented home she lives in from a housing association along with an additional £20,000 in cash as “additional income”, an increase of the £50,000 a previous High Court judge said she should receive.
Surprisingly, this significant sum won’t affect her benefits.
Her and her husband have “modest” incomes and lead a more frugal lifestyle, buying second-hand clothes and foregoing holidays. They have an annual income of £7,000 and receive £13,000 in state benefits.
Paula Myers, Head of Wills Disputes at law firm Irwin Mitchell, said: “This ruling means that people can still disinherit their children but will have to have a good reason why and be able to explain what connects them to the people or organisations that they have included in their wills instead.”
She also said that judges are feeling stronger about this issue: “Heather Ilott re-emphasised that the adult child does not have to show a ‘moral claim’. In cases in which the claimant has little money and a housing need and the defendant has wealth it appears that the court will look sympathetically upon a claim by an adult child.”
What this could mean for future wills
Does this mean that if you wish to disinherit your child in your will it’ll just be able to be ignored now?
“The key thing is to make a will,” says Myers.
In this instance, if Jackson hadn’t made a will, her daughter would actually have received the entirety of her estate.
If you’re making a will and are planning to exclude a child, Myers warns of the possibility of a post-death claim. Consider the benefit of defensive will writing or estate planning such as making pre-death gifts or making some provision for the child to try and settle claims.
It’s also important that you keep your will up to date to make your wishes as clear as possible. You should also make your connections to those you do give your money away to clear so there's less chance of the will being successfully challenged.
Not much will change if your children are under 18, but at this point it’s even more important to get something in place in case the worst should happen.
Find out more with our guide to Making a will.
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